Settling for Silver: Mustangs fall in Centennial Cup Final
It's silver, again. The Melfort Mustangs second straight appearance at the Centennial Cup National Junior A Championship tournament ended with a 7-2 loss to the Calgary Canucks on Sunday night. It's the first time in 30-years that the host team has won the tournament. Calgary is the 12th host team to win since the tournament format began in 1985.
'We went from coming to the rink and hoping to win to 'we're going to win,' Canucks captain Bowen Singleton told Hockey Canada after the game. 'It's everything i've dreamed of.'
The Mustangs finished second in Group B in the round robin, just one point behind the eventual champions with a record of 2-1-1-0.
The Canucks struck first on a goal by Rhett Melynk, who tucked a loose puck past Mustangs goaltender Kristian Coombs on the powerplay. Ashton Paul drew the Mustangs even before the period was out. It was the second period where momentum really swung. The Canucks connected for three goals (Hayden Feschner, Landon Pappas and Nolan DuPont). It proved to be too big of a hole for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) champions to climb out of.
Jayden Joly scored just 1:18 into the final frame to chase Coombs from the crease. Madden Mulawka made four stops in a closing effort.
The Mustangs have become the second team to lose in the title game in back-to-back seasons joining the Carleton Place Canadians.
Zayden Sadlemeyer scored with 14 minutes to go but it was too little too late to mount a comeback. The Mustangs fell 7-2 to the Canucks who celebrated in front of a happy hometown crowd.
The Mustangs played the stretch of the tournament without their leading scorer Reilley Kotai (39 regular season goals, 77 points) due to injury.
The host team for the 2026 Centennial Cup has yet to be named.
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