It would be sweet if the Williams Lake Mustangs won their game against the Quesnel River Rush on Friday, Feb. 14 in Quesnel.
A win would nudge the Williams Lake Mustangs one step closer to clinching a spot in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League playoffs, said head coach and general manager Tyrel Lucas.
“As of right now we are in the last playoff spot in our division,” Lucas told the Tribune Monday, Feb. 10.
The Mustangs' last game of the season is at home against the 100 Mile House Wranglers on Saturday, Feb. 22.
During a game Sunday, Feb. 9, the Mustangs fell 3-2 in their game against the Wranglers.
“It was a super close game,” Lucas said. “Obviously we haven’t won the last couple of games against the Wranglers but the games have been super close.”
In that game, JP Desabrais and Logan Hauk each scored a goal.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, the Mustangs beat the Chase Heat 6-3 in Chase.
Declan Pocock, Jacob Shtaif, Rory Mumford and Tyson Carter each scored a goal and JP Desabrais got two.
Lucas said the team has been playing well in the new year and all the players on the team have bought in.
“It’s become a tight group of guys who are playing really good hockey and playing for each other," he said. "I like our chances."
Home game attendance is within the top-five of the league, he added.
“Overall our fan support has been great. I think we’ve had some really good games at home, even some very entertaining games. Even a couple that we kind of came out on the wrong side of."
Playoffs will start off Feb. 28 and will be the best of seven.
“We want to get everyone healthy and worry about our team systems and focus a lot on them," Lucas said of the team's focus as they build toward the playoffs.
No one is off with injuries, but Lucas noted the team was hit hard with a flu bug.
“Everyone was sick and kind of low on energy, but everyone is starting to get over that and feeling healthy."
When the bench was slim because of illness, Lucas brought in a few Williams Lake Minor Hockey U18 boys to play.
“With those guys it’s been really nice to have the ability to bring them to practice and get them into games and work with them to develop players for the future.”
Lucas is hoping to get a fan bus to support the team if it makes it to playoffs and said quite a few fans travelled to watch the game in 100 Mile House on Feb. 9.
In a news release the KIJHL announced Logan Hauk as the KIJHL Young Guns selection the week of Feb. 2.
Logan, who is from Prince George, had his biggest performance in a 6-5 shootout loss to the Merritt Centennials, netting a hat-trick, said KIJHL director of communications Emanuel Sequeira.
To date Hauk has 33 points in 30 games.
“Lately I’ve been leading towards being more of a goal-scorer,” Hauk said in the release. “It definitely helps when I’m playing with the same line consistently and they know where I am at all times. We move the puck around well.”
As of Tuesday, Feb. 11 in the Doug Birks Division,100 Mile House Wranglers are in first place, Kamloops Storm in second, Quesnel River Rush third, Williams Lake Mustangs fourth and the Chase Heat in fifth.
