CALGARY, AB – The Melfort Mustangs had an off-day Thursday with a morning practice, but the rest will only be short-lived if they are to reach their ultimate goal.
Should the Mustangs find a way to win the Centennial Cup in the final Sunday, they would have played five games in six days, and three in three days in the playoff round. It all starts again Friday afternoon in the quarterfinal vs. the Greater Sudbury Cubs of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.
Greater Sudbury will a tough test for the Mustangs.
The No. 7-ranked club in Canada and the NOJHL champs finished third in Group A after wins over the Grande Prairie Storm and Kam River Fighting Walleye in the group stage.
Cubs forward Lincoln Moore was third in goals in the round robin with five, and brings 125 games of Ontario Hockey League experience, including at the 2024 Memorial Cup with the champion Saginaw Spirit.
NOJHL MVP Lucas Signoretti had 36 points in their league playoffs, and was the only player in the Canadian Junior Hockey League to hit the 100-point plateau in the regular season this year.
The Cubs are coached by NOJHL Coach of the Year, and CJHL Coach of the Year nominee Darryl Moxam.
CJHL Coach of the Year Trevor Blevins’ Mustangs finished in second place in Group B in the group stage, with three wins out of four contests.
As the higher ranked No. 2 seed, the Mustangs would face the Ontario Junior Hockey League champion Trenton Golden Hawks in the late semifinal Saturday should they find their way past Sudbury.
Check out all their goals from the Group Stage here:
Puck drops on Friday’s quarterfinal at 4:00 P.M. MDT, and can be found on HNLive.ca
