Elks take down ‘Stangs

Best of 5 Series won 3-1 for Elks

The Elk Point Elks are moving onto round 2 of the SaskAlta Sr Men’s Hockey League Playoffs with a win on home ice on Friday against the Dewberry Mustangs. It was an especially nice win considering the proximity of the two clubs have made them long-time rivals and the Mustangs are seventeen time league champions.

“We was nothing less than we expected; pretty rough. Our skill and speed played out in the end and we beat ’em,” Coach Murray Cochrane says even after opening the series on the 3rd with a 10-1 loss to the Mustangs, he knew the club would bounce back and shine. “It’s like winning the Stanley Cup, for us… beating Dewberry,” laughs the coach.

Other than the 10-1 win for Dewberry to open the series, the Elks dominated the first round. The club won 7-2 in game 2 and 7-1 in game 3. leading into the forth and deciding match. The deciding game was played out at the AG Ross Arena in Elk Point, where the stands were packed to the roof, with both the home and Dewberry crowds. “Dewberry always brings a good crowd with them,” Cochrane says he was hoping to meet the club’s rivals in the first round, for the sheer fact that he wanted to see the stands packed.

JASON KALYNCHUK opened the game with the sole goal in the first, an unassisted popper just before the halfway point. Elk Point carried the lead into the second with a goal from CHEVY BOTTING from BEN BLACKLOCK. Heavy hitter and one of the Mustang’s top scorer, KURT BENSMILLER put one past Elks’ PAUL BOULIANNE with LEE POPESCUL and RYLEY BATES picking up the assists.

It was a close 2-1 game at the start of the third; but after the two-goal security point from  BEN BLACKLOCK, with LEE LETESTU and DEVIN MONETA on the assist, the Elks took it away.  MARK BRODBIN with SEAN JOLY and CHEVY BOTTING made it a 4-1 game for the Elks at 14:52, which was followed up 20 seconds later by  CHEVY BOTTING, assist to JORDYN WOZNIAK.  DYSON KARBASHEWSKI with JASON KALYNCHUK put in the final goal of the game, to make it a 6-1 final; erupting the home crowd.

“It was a good, hard fought battle, on Friday night,” Cochrane says he doesn’t take anything away from the Mustangs; who battled right to the end. “Paul Boulianne proved why he’s the best goalie in the league. He kept us in the game, when maybe there were times that we weren’t in the game. He deserves every award that he gets, right now. He’s been playing stellar… we’re ready for Hillmond!”

“Now we’re onto Hillmond,” Cochrane says the team will get right back into it in the second round. Having only met Hillmond in the regular season once, it’s hard to gauge where the club will land. “We lost that one in overtime. It’ll be a good series.” The schedule should be released in the next couple days, LCN will keep you posted.