The Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings for the first time in over a decade are getting ready for Game 1 of the Canterra Seeds Cup Final tonight against the Melfort Mustangs. The Red Wings defeated the Flin Flon Bombers 3-2 in overtime last Monday to advance to the SJHL finals for the first time since 2012. Now, they have the chance to start he journey to SJHL supremacy and win the league championships, something that hasn't been done for the Red Wings since 2002. Forward Braigh LeGrandeur, 3-year veteran with the Red Wings and latest commit to the University of Alberta - Augustana, is excited to get the series going.
"The vibes are pretty high today, think everyone's pretty excited to get things going here. Obviously, it's hard not to be excited for the opportunity that we have. We want to just continue to play our game the way we've been playing it."
Their style of hockey has given the Red Wings success all year, from winning the Viterra Division for the first time in nearly a decade to beating two tough opponents in the playoffs in the Battlefords North Stars and the Flin Flon Bombers. With a tough challenge in trying to take on the defending SJHL champions in the Melfort Mustangs, the Red Wings realize the hard work that's ahead of them, but as forward Jaxson Ruthven states, they're enjoying every step of this journey.
"I think our group is feeling pretty good about the opportunity that we have here and we're prepared as we can be so not a lot of anxiety or stress heading into this game tonight; we're just going to show up, play our game and see what happens. Melfort's obviously a high-end (team) they've shown that throughout, the way they play and the way they've handled the league this year so I just think we got to play our game, use our speed and get traffic in front of their net."
The Melfort Mustangs finished the year 1st in league standings with a 46-8-0-2 record, and have only lost one game out of the nine they've played this series, beating the Kindersley Klippers in five games and sweeping the Yorkton Terriers in four games.
Game 1 starts tonight with the puck drop at 7:30 P.M. at the Northern Lights Palace in Melfort. Catch all the action on Great Plains Ford Red Wing Radio Country 106.7 starting at 7:15 P.M. with the pre-game show.