by Stephen Dafoe
The Sturgeon Atom AA Mustangs played the final provincial play down in the Ray McDonald Sports Center Monday night, the finale of a two-game, total-points zone championship contest with Drayton Valley.
The Mustangs were down 8-3 after game one but confident they could make up the deficit on home ice.
The young players and their young fans certainly put up a solid effort with the Mustangs playing hard throughout 60 minutes and their fans cheering Go Mustangs! Go! throughout three periods.
After one, the Mustangs were trailing Drayton Valley 4-3. That gap widened to 7-3 after two. The Mustangs ended trailing Drayton Valley 8-3 to bring the two-game tally to 16-8.
“We didn’t give up. We fought to the end, but obviously came up a little bit short,” said Atom AA Mustangs Coach Scott Richardson after the game. It’s disappointing but it was a good run.”
Richardson said with provincials completed, the team will focus on the remainder of the regular season. With the team sitting at 17-0-2, it has been a solid one.
“We’ve still got a good shot of winning our league,” Richardson said.