It was a busy week for the Melfort Mustangs off the ice as they made a trade acquiring 20-year-old Tristen Elder from the Humboldt Broncos in exchange for 20-year-old forward Jaxon Joseph and 16-year-old defenseman Kade Olsen.
The Kinistino native comes to the Mustangs having played 125 games in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League where he has recorded 19 goals and 44 assists.
Mustangs head coach and general manager Trevor Blevins noted Elder can bring size, strength and grit to the Mustangs forward group, which was something he felt his club was missing.
“We felt we were missing some sandpaper in our lineup and he’s got a veteran presence... I’ve coached him before, I know he’s a strong character and he’s a quality individual so we’re happy to make that deal.”
Blevins, who coached Elder while they were both members of the Tisdale Trojans, notes that the familiarity played a big role in making the deal.
“I just know what he brings effort wise day in and day out. He was a young player with us in Tisdale when I coached him, he was a 15-year-old but he played like a 17-year-old. He brings a lot of energy and brings a lot of compete level and that’s what we’re looking for.”
Elder has yet to score so far this season posting just seven assists in nine games as a Bronco, but has been out of the lineup since early October.
Despite sitting on the sidelines for more than a month, Blevins has no concerns that he will not fit right in when he returns to action.
“He’s the type of player that will be able to adjust. He’s played on enough hockey teams, he knows how to play the game. We’re confident in his abilities to get going.”
Melfort vs. Flin Flon, Nov. 1
The Melfort Mustangs were not ready to play right from the first drop of the puck and it cost them as they fell 2-1 to the Flin Flon Bombers in the first half of their Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League home-and-home series on Nov. 1 in Flin Flon.
“We were slow starting again. It’s just a matter of when you play in that rink you need to keep it simple and you need to really just compete in the hard areas and they do a good job of that at home and we just didn’t bring it consistently,” lamented Blevins.
The Bombers took an early lead as Daylan Marchi scored his second of the year with 6:25 left in the first period.
The game remained 1-0 into the third period when Chrystopher Collin scored his 13th goal of the season to give the Bombers a 2-0 lead.
Drew Warkentine scored his third goal in his last two games a short while later but the Mustangs could not complete the comeback.
Evan Plotnik was charged with the loss allowing two goals on 30 shots, and the Mustangs out shot the Bombers 34-30.
When looking back on the evening, Blevins described it as disappointing.
“It’s always disappointing when you have an opportunity to win a hockey game when you’re that close. It’s pretty disappointing to have a soft effort.”
The Mustangs finished the night 0-for-3 with the man advantage, while the Bombers completed the evening 1-for-5 on the power play.
Melfort vs. Flin Flon, Nov. 2
After not bringing their best the night prior, the Melfort Mustangs responded in a big way knocking off the Flin Flon Bombers 4-3 in the back half of their Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League home-and-home series in Melfort on Nov. 2.
“We just had a huge response. I thought we just went hard so it was good,” noted Blevins.
The game got off to a solid start for the Mustangs as Kalem Zary scored the first period’s only goal, his fourth of the year, to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.
The lead did not last very long however, as the Bombers responded with a second period marker just 21 seconds in.
Carson Albrecht then scored his seventh of the season at 8:33 of the second period to grab a 2-1 lead.
After the Bombers scored to tie the game before the end of the second, Justin Ball took over in the third for the Mustangs.
Ball scored his first of two straight goals on a penalty shot at 6:40, and then extended the Mustangs lead to two with his second of the night, and eighth of the season on the power play at 15:34.
The Bombers managed to cut the lead to one but could not beat goaltender Hunter Arps who picked up the win turning aside 25 of the 28 shots he faced, as the Mustangs outshot the Bombers 37-28.
The Mustangs advantage in shots was all the more impressive considering they gave up ten power play opportunities while only having three of their own.
Blevins noted the shot disparity was in large part thanks to their solid play 5-on-5.
“I thought we were phenomenal. It was just a real hard effort all the way through our lineup.”
The Mustangs enjoyed another weekend off before returning to action on Nov. 8 when they Mustangs welcome the Estevan Bruins to town.
The Bruins come into the contest sporting two of the top 5 highest scorers in the league, and shutting those guys down will be key, said Blevins.
