The Battlefords North Stars will play the Melfort Mustangs in the Canalta Cup Final. (Tyler Marr)

By Martin Martinson

Stars ready for brightest stage

Finals solidified: Stars to play Mustangs for Canalta Cup

Apr 8, 2019 | 4:56 PM

The Melfort Mustangs defeated the Estevan Bruins 3-2 Sunday night to take their semifinal best-of-seven series in six games, 4-2.

With the victory, the Mustangs will now move on to the Canalta Cup Final to play the Battlefords North Stars for the league championship. The Stars are coming off a four-game sweep of the Yorkton Terriers, in a semifinal matchup that wrapped up April 3.

As the higher seed, the Stars will have home-ice advantage for the series. The team is 5-0-1 at the Civic Centre this post-season, while Melfort is 2-2-1 on the road.

Offensively:

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North Stars: Fifteen different North Stars have lit the proverbial lamp for the team these playoffs with at least a single goal, including six of the seven defencemen to suit up for the team through the first two rounds.

Up front, Stars’ rookie, Quintin Loon-Stewardson has been the breakout player of the post-season this year with a team-leading six goals, 13 points in 11 games played. Forwards Braydon Buziak and Brett Gammer sit second in team goals, with four each.

The Stars hold a +13-goal differential, good for tops in the league, while Melfort has a +12 differential.

Mustangs: Scored the second-most goals in the league this season, producing 235 over the 58-game regular season, or an average of just over four per-contest.

Boasting the top two scorers in the league this season, Justin Ball, led all players in both goals (54), and points, (103) en route to being named SJHL MVP. Albrecht, meanwhile picked up 89 points and was awarded Player of the Year honours.

The pair have followed up their regular season success with continued offensive prowess this post-season, sitting tied atop the league with 14 points apiece.

Special Teams:

North Stars: Have possessed the third-best power play in the league this postseason, clicking along at 21.4 per cent efficiency.

On the penalty kill, the Stars have a league-best 92.7 per cent success rate, while Melfort is ranked second at 88.9 per cent.

Mustangs: Melfort’s power play, is ranked sixth in the playoffs, at 17.4 per cent effectiveness, but the team has shown its ability to dominate with the extra man, as indicated by their league-leading 23.7 per cent effectiveness through the regular season.

Series X-Factor:

The North Stars have faced their fair share of premier offences this post-season, from Flin Flon, who finished third in goals with 233, to Yorkton who finished first at 242. The team will now aim to achieve similar success against another dynamic force in the Mustangs.

Limiting the Bombers to two-goals or less in five of their seven games of the semifinal, the Stars then managed to completely shut out Yorkton in three straight, holding the Terriers to just two goals total in their four-game sweep.

The question will be, quite simply, if the top line of the Mustangs, featuring Tanner Zentner between Ball and Albrecht, can continue to score at a torrent pace that has seen the three combine for 19 of their team’s 35 goals on the post-season.

The trio will face perhaps its toughest task yet, facing SJHL Top Defenceman, Cody Spagrud on a nightly basis, along with the hottest goalie in the league, in Joel Grzybowski.

Goaltending:

North Stars: Coming off three-straight shutouts to close out the Terriers, and four so far on the post-season. Grzybowski leads all goalies with a sparkling 1.40 goals-against average and .959 save percentage these playoffs.

Melfort’s Noah Giesbrecht posted a 1.99 goals-against average and .941 save percentage through the first two rounds, ranking second in each stat category.

The players’ thoughts:

Ryan Granville (on making the finals his rookie year):

“It’s pretty surreal. It’s been a journey to get here after a tough start to the season, but we’ve really picked it up and come together when it counts,” Granville said. “It’s an absolute blast to have come this far and to have this opportunity my first year in the league.”

Cody Spagrud (on going head-to-head with Melfort’s big line):

“I think it’s always good when you can play against top guys. It makes it easy when you go out there, because you know you’re going to have to work to try and shut them down the best you can.”

Game 1 of the Canalta Cup Final will be played Friday, April 12 at the Civic Centre. The Ultra Print Pregame Show will begin at 7 p.m. with puck drop at 7:30 p.m.

Series schedule:

April 12 -> Game one @ NB Civic Centre

April 13 -> Game two @ NB Civic Centre

April 16 -> Game three @ Northern Lights Palace

April 17 -> Game four @ Northern Lights Palace

April 19 -> Game five @ NB Civic Centre*

April 21 -> Game six @ Northern Lights Palace*

April 23 -> Game seven @ NB Civic Centre*

*indicates if necessary

Pregame begins at 7 p.m. with puck drop at 7:30 p.m. for each game of the series on NAPA North Stars Hockey on 1050 CJNB.

–

Martin.Martinson@jpbg,ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1