Series tied at two

The La Ronge Ice Wolves dropped a 3-1 decision Wednesday night at the JRMCC to the Melfort Mustangs – the opening round SJHL series is now tied at two.

“That’s a tight-checking, good playoff hockey game there, this is why it’s the fourth and fifth seed, we knew it was going to be a tight series,” said Ice Wolves Asst. Coach Kyle Schneider. “We had some Grade A chances – unfortunately, we didn’t get the bounces tonight.”

The Mustangs opened the scoring 5:27 into the first period when Boston Maxwell directed an offering past Dawson Smith, who turned away 35 shots in the La Ronge net.

Neither team found the back of the net in the second period Wednesday evening. The Ice Wolves had several good opportunities to hit pay dirt, but Joel Favreau shut the door.

La Ronge eventually tied the game at one 54 seconds into the third when Trenton Curtis sent a rebound into the back of the cage. Melfort replied at the 6:33 mark of the third after Cameron Emigh hammered home a shot from the point.

Aidyn Hutchinson would add an empty netter with just three seconds remaining, sealing the win for Melfort.

“We had a slow start, they came out hard, but after the first 10 minutes, I thought we played really well, but we just couldn’t bury our chances,” said La Ronge defenceman Liam McInnis.

The Ice Wolves will try to rebound Friday night in Melfort when they make the trek to Northern Lights Palace for the fifth installment of the series.

The Ice Wolves and Mustangs will also meet Sunday in northern Saskatchewan. Stay tuned to our social media channels for ticketing information.