Unfortunately for the local squad, the reason it was ‘almost’ perfect came out of the championship final. And as a result, the Mustangs ended up with a silver medal after dropping a heartbreaking 9-8 decision to the Regina Reign.
Things had gone swimmingly to that point, as Moose Jaw had cracked double digits in each of their contests -- defeating the Reign 11-6 to open the tournament and reeling off a 16-5 win over the Saskatoon Watchmen, 16-4 victory over the Weyburn Rattlers and 17-1 win over the Prince Albert Attack through the rest of the round robin.
It was more of the same in the semifinal, where the Mustangs rolled to a 14-4 win over the Saskatoon Watchmen, setting up their second showdown with the Reign.
Mustangs 11, Regina 6
Moose Jaw took a 7-4 lead out of the first half and never looked back in their first meeting with Regina.
Hudson Haydon scored three goals for Moose Jaw while Kashton Smith and Lachlan Clark each scored a pair. Ryder Gilroy, Declan Armstrong, Brodyn Pladson and Bennet Burns had the Mustangs other goals.
Mustangs 16, Saskatoon 5
Saskatoon scored the opening goal three minutes in, but it was all Moose Jaw from there, as Smith had a hat trick before the half was out and the Mustangs built a 7-2 lead.
Smith capped the contest with five goals, with Clark and Haydon adding three goals and an assist each. Burns scored twice; Cooper Bruce had a goal and two assists. Armstrong and Pladson rounded out scoring.
Mustangs 16, Weyburn 4
As well as things went their previous game, they were even better in their penultimate round-robin contest.
The Mustangs scored the first and last five goals of the opening half, building a 10-1 lead on their way to their commanding win over the Rattlers.
It was Clark’s turn to lead the offence with a five-goal showing. Bruce scored four, Armstrong three and Smith two to cap the Mustangs’ multiple goal scorers. Pladson and Haydon had single markers each.
Mustangs 17, Prince Albert 1
Prince Albert may have been amicable hosts, but that didn’t stop Moose Jaw from scoring 11 goals in a 14-minute span of the second half to secure their third-straight double-digit victory.
Hayden Nidesh enjoyed a breakout showing in the contest, scoring four times and finishing the game with eight points. Clark scored another four goals, Luke Turner, Smith and Haydon all had two markers apiece. Gilroy, Armstrong and Chase Folk rounded out their offence; Bruce and Pladson contributed two assists each.
Mustangs 14, Saskatoon 4
It was more of the same in the semifinal on Sunday morning, this time with the Mustangs scoring the game’s first five goals in the opening eight minutes and building an 8-2 lead at the half.
Smith scored four times and finished with six points, Haydon had three goals and five points. Bruce and Clark each scored twice, Armstrong, Burns and Pladson had a goal and an assist each.
Regina 8, Mustangs 7
As they say, they play the games for a reason, that reason being sometimes no matter how dominant a team is, strange things happen.
Moose Jaw took a 4-0 lead out of the first half but watched as Regina scored six goals in the first 10 minutes after the break to take a 6-4 lead.
The Reign led 8-5 with seven minutes remaining when the Mustangs attempted a late rally, first when Turner scored with five minutes to play and then when Smith finished off a three-goal game with 1:35 remaining.
The Mustangs would get no closer, though, and Regina would claim the provincial title.
Turner finished with two goals, Pladson and Clark had their other markers
