REGINA, SK – It has been 10 years since the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League had a National Junior A champion.
The Melfort Mustangs are hungry to end that drought.
By winning the 2024 Canterra Seeds Cup, the Mustangs will be the league’s entry into the 10-team event, set to begin Friday, May 9 in Oakville, ONT’s beautiful Sixteen Mile Sports Complex.
“It is a tremendous honour for the Melfort Mustangs to represent the SJHL at the 2024 Centennial Cup,” said Melfort local and Mustangs’ head coach & general manager Trevor Blevins.
“The SJHL has definitely prepared us for the Centennial Cup with the parity and high level of play amongst all 12 teams. Our goal was first and foremost to bring an SJHL championship to our great Melfort community, and now our No. 1 priority is to bring home a National Championship to Melfort and the province.”
The Centennial Cup features the champions of the nine Canadian Junior Hockey League leagues, as well as the hosts. It consists of a group stage, two quarterfinals, two semifinals, and a Gold Medal Game.
It runs from May 9 to 19th, culminating in Sunday afternoon’s championship game.
Melfort is in Group B, along with the hosts the Oakville Blades of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, the Winkler Flyers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, the Sioux Lookout Bombers of the Superior International Junior Hockey League, and the Miramichi Timberwolves of the Maritime Junior Hockey League.
The Mustangs will look to be the top team in the group and earn an automatic bye into the semifinal through the round-robin, where the five teams will face each other once. Should they finish second or third in the group, they will play in a crossover quarterfinal against a corresponding team in Group A on the 17th and thus would need to play seven playoff-intensity games in 10 days. They would simply be eliminated from contention if they were to finish fourth or fifth.
Find the full schedule of the event here.
Information regarding the live streaming of the games will be available at the official tournament website here.
“The Mustangs, under the leadership of Trevor Blevins, demonstrated both a commitment to teamwork and a sense of ‘no quit’, determination, and chemistry which allowed them to come out victorious,” said SJHL Commissioner Kyle McIntyre.
“They will undoubtedly be outstanding ambassadors for the community of Melfort and the SJHL, and will have an excellent chance of bringing back the Centennial Cup to Saskatchewan; the first since 2014.”
Follow the SJHL across all the socials for previews, updates, and highlights from the Mustangs’ journey in Oakville!
