Melfort Mustangs win back-to-back SJHL championships
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Melfort Mustangs have now repeated that feat twice since 2015 under head coach and general manager Trevor Blevins.
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'I'm not the easiest coach to play for,' admits Blevins, whose Mustangs captured their second straight Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League championship title Sunday night after taking the best-of-seven final series in five games over the Weyburn Red Wings, 'but these guys bought in and they bought in every day.'
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The Mustangs hoisted the Canterra Seeds Cup following a 3-0 shutout win over the Red Wings before 2,000 fans at the Northern Lights Palace, taking the series four games to one and giving up only three goals in the five games as goalie Kristian Coombs posted three shutouts.
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'They play the right way, each guy,' Blevins said of his team. 'You can't help but love each one of them. It was a fantastic effort (in the SJHL final) all the way down the line-up. I'm so proud of them. They deserve it.'
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Through 14 playoff games overall, Melfort allowed only 19 goals in total.
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Melfort also won back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016.
'Best feeling in the world,' said Mustangs captain and defenceman Ty Thornton, who was named the playoff MVP for this season's post-season run. 'Obviously you can look and see back-to-back. It's amazing. I didn't know that (playoff MVP award) was going to happen. That's awesome. To be on this team this year and have this experience, I'll never forget.'
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Zach Turner, Reilley Kotai and Logan Belton, with an empty-netter, scored in Game 5 for Melfort, which outshot Weyburn 35-16 as Coombs posted another shutout.
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The Mustangs took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series with a convincing 5-1 win Thursday night in Weyburn, where Thornton, Nolan Roberts, Zac Somers, Zayden Sadlemyer and Danton Cox each tallied once.
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The Mustangs finished first overall in the SJHL this season with a 46-8-0-2 record, while Weyburn was third at 35-19-2-0.
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'Forget about the past,' said Thornton. 'Our regular season was insane but we forget about the past. Every game is a new game. We started fresh every time and I think that helped us a lot.'
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Melfort now moves on to the Centennial Cup for the second straight year. A year ago, the Mustangs reached the national junior A championship final, only to lose 1-0 to the Collingwood, Ont. Blues in Oakville, Ont.
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CBC
4 hours ago
- CBC
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7 hours ago
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More calculating, more efficient, the MVP took what he wanted in Game 2. Get the latest from Ryan Wolstat straight to your inbox Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoots against Indiana Pacers guard Ben Sheppard during Game 2 of the NBA Finals. AP Photo Maybe this won't be much of a series after all. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account That was the initial thought after Oklahoma City mauled the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, making up for a stunning Game 1 loss in the NBA Finals. This Thunder team is a juggernaut (you don't win 68 games easily) and the team looked much more like its usual self in tying things up. Some takeaways from Game 2: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander never really looks uncomfortable — his cool, calm demeanour is part of his unflappable package — but like his teammates, he wasn't quite himself in Game 1. He forced some shots (30 in all, just the sixth time in his career he has attempted at least 30, including two in these playoffs) and seemed to be recalibrating to how Indiana was keying on him. Well, mission accomplished. Sunday was vintage Gilgeous-Alexander, as the Canadian guard dominated. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He looked to facilitate a lot more and attacked, with 12 of his 21 attempts coming in the paint, but was probing with more of a purpose than in the previous game. He actually drove more in Game 1, but had more turnovers and fewer assists and shot a lower percentage. This time, Gilgeous-Alexander generated 12 trips to the free-throw line and six of his eight assists were on three-point makes, with three of the assists coming off drives. Nobody can stop Gilgeous-Alexander from driving, he's the best in the NBA at it for a reason, but when he also knows what's coming and does exactly what he wants to — which happened far more often Sunday than in the opener — it makes Oklahoma City extremely tough to handle. STICKING WITH IT Thunder coach Mark Daigneault had thrown a curve ball ahead of Game 1 by going small. Out was centre Isaiah Hartenstein, who had started 53 of 57 regular-season appearances and all 16 in the playoffs until then, and in was guard Cason Wallace. The move was made even though the previous lineup had gone 12-4 in the playoffs and 9-4 in the regular season. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The old adage might be 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it,' but Daigneault tinkered anyway. It didn't pay immediate dividends (Chet Holmgren, who had spent about 40% of the time at power forward, became the lone big man on the floor and struggled mightily, shooting 2-for-9 for six points, Wallace went 3-for-9) and defensively they couldn't keep the Pacers in check. But the Thunder stuck with the move Sunday (perhaps because they had been 6-0 with this group during the year) and Holmgren, the team's third-best player, who had been all but invisible to start the series (one basket after an early layup), broke out. Holmgren again got an early bucket (a layup after missing a first attempt and grabbing his own rebound), and he looked a lot more involved. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More The stretch big man was the main reason the Thunder led by six after a quarter and he had another strong stretch in the second when the game got broken open with a block, dunk and assist setting up a three-pointer. Holmgren was pretty quiet the rest of the way, but he'd made his impact. Meanwhile, Hartenstein was great off the bench (even if his stats didn't indicate that), the reserves dominated Indiana (Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins each had more points than any Indiana player), and the smaller, quicker first group was disruptive. STATS PACK In picking our favourite stats from Game 2, a common theme emerged — Gilgeous-Alexander's season for the ages just keeps on going: This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Gilgeous-Alexander eclipsed Allen Iverson for most points by a player through his first two Finals games. Gilgeous-Alexander eclipsed Allen Iverson for most points by a player through his first two Finals games. He tied Michael Jordan and LeBron James with 11 games in one playoffs with at least 30 points and five assists. He tied Michael Jordan and LeBron James with 11 games in one playoffs with at least 30 points and five assists. The Thunder has still only lost two straight games twice all year, not once in the playoffs. The Thunder has still only lost two straight games twice all year, not once in the playoffs. Indiana's the first team without a 20-point scorer through two games since Miami in 2013. Indiana's the first team without a 20-point scorer through two games since Miami in 2013. OKC's 33 free-throw attempts were the third-most by a team in a Finals game since 2016. OKC's 33 free-throw attempts were the third-most by a team in a Finals game since 2016. And one for Caruso, the elite defensive guard who isn't known for his scoring. Caruso's 20 points tied his playoff high (also done against Denver) and most amazingly, he only has scored at least 20 five times in 417 career regular-season games. @WolstatSun World Sunshine Girls Golf Canada Editorial Cartoons
