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wild finish

Mustangs snap Wolverines streak with shootout win

Oct 2, 2026 | 11:16 PM

The Melfort Mustangs held off another late comeback by the Warman Wolverines to pick up a 6-5 shootout victory on Friday night in Warman.

Dru Mushumanski had a five-point night and Luke MacKenzie scored the only goal of the shootout as the Mustangs posted their third win of the season after a rollercoaster end to regulation.

Melfort controlled much of the first two periods, grabbing an early 2-0 advantage as Mushumanski scored less than two minutes in and Tristin Ziola tallied just shy of the 12-minute mark.

Newcomer Ashton Lee scored in his first game as a Wolverine to cut the deficit in half late in the frame, but the Mustangs responded in the second as Bennett Roth netted his first SJHL goal. Luke Dekay extended the lead to three early in the third period and then the rollercoaster ride began.

Theron Bensler blasted a point shot for his second goal of the season to get Warman back within two. Then with less than seven minutes to play, Trey Markus redirected his fifth of the year past Mustangs goaltender Nick Kotai to trim the gap to one.

With 3:05 to go, Nate Crashley raced down the left wing and fired a shot from a nearly impossible angle that somehow found its way into the net to tie the game 4-4.

With overtime looming, the Mustangs went back in front in bizarre fashion as a shot from the corner popped straight up in the air above Warman netminder Luke Brunen and Bensler, in an attempt to bat it away with his hand, inadvertently knocked it into his own net.

Undaunted, the Wolverines won the ensuing faceoff and dumped the puck into the Mustangs zone. Kayden Yeaman raced in and stole it behind the net, then banked it off Kotai and in with 12.6 seconds showing on the clock.

It’s the second time in as many home games that the Wolverines have forced overtime with a goal in the final 15 seconds of regulation.

Despite controlling the puck for most of overtime, Warman could not produce a game winner and after the first five shooters in the one-on-one competition came up empty, Mackenzie beat Brunen with a snap shot to give Melfort the win.

The Wolverines win streak ends at four games as they drop to 4-1-1 while the Mustangs improve to 3-2 with their second straight victory.

The teams will meet again on Saturday in Melfort with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Northern Lights Palace. Listen to every Wolverines game live on SaskNow.com.

GAME SUMMARY – Mustangs 6, Wolverines 5 (SO)

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