The Melfort Mustangs shocked many.
Advancing to the Canterra Seeds Cup Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) final against the Flin Flon Bombers after a dramatic seven-game series against Humboldt in the semi-finals, the Broncos went into the famed Whitney Forum and put up 13 goals in the first two games of the final to take a two-to-nothing series lead.
The Bombers had been nearly unbeatable in Flin Flon all year. They had won their previous four playoff games there and they were 24-2-1-1 on home ice during the regular season. The Mustangs featuring Swan River's Bo Eisner weren't worried about how dominant Flin Flon was, because they knew they had it in them.
Melfort went into the Forum and physically wore down the Bombers and then returning to the Northern Lights Palace in Melfort, the Mustangs took a three-to-nothing stranglehold lead on the Bombers with a thrilling 4-3 double overtime victory.
Then the series changed. Needing to win to keep their season alive in game four, the Bombers' Kylynn Olafson scored in overtime and then returning home for game five, the Bombers defended home ice with a 5-2 win.
All of a sudden, the Bombers went from trailing big to needing just one more game to force game seven. For Eisner and the rest of the Mustangs, they knew all they needed was one more win. One more win and they would upset one of the most dominant teams in recent league history.
"We were just staying confident, we were preaching that we needed to have a game-seven mentality," said Eisner. "We were playing desperate and doing everything we could to finish it off in game six."
In the end, that is exactly what the Mustangs did. A three-goal third period lifted the Mustangs to a 4-1 victory as they won the SJHL for the first time since they went back-to-back in 2015 and 2016.
While it was a shock to some, winning the league title was not a shock whatsoever to Bo and the rest of the Mustangs brass.
"It was such a great way to start off my junior career," said Eisner. "To win a league title, it's such an incredible feeling and I will never forget it."
2500 loud and boisterous fans packed into the Northern Lights Palace in Melfort for the contest. No seats were left open and there were multiple rows of standing room only. Whatever fans had to do to cheer on their team to victory in their home arena they did and they were rewarded.
"It was awesome doing it in front of our home fans," offered Eisner. "They have been so loyal and incredible throughout our playoff run. We thank them for their incredible support."
To think, Melfort was less than three minutes away from their season-ending a couple of weeks ago. In their semi-final series against Humboldt, the Mustangs trailed 4-3 with just 1:54 left on the clock. That's when Aidyn Hutchinson scored his 10th of the playoffs and Ryan Duguay then scored in overtime to send the Mustangs to the league final and the rest is history.
Bo and the rest of the club will board a plane on Tuesday, May 7, heading to Oakville for the Centennial Cup, Canada's National Junior A Championship. They open their tournament on May 9 against the champions from the Maritime Hockey League (MHL). That's followed by a challenge against the champions from Manitoba, the Winkler Flyers on May 11 before playing Owen Riffel and the Sioux Lookout Bombers on May 14.
The team's round-robin wraps up on the final day of round-robin play on May 15 against the Oakville Blades during primetime.
It will be Bo's first chance to play on the national stage and he's counting down the minutes.
"It's going to be an incredible experience and it's always nice to play against new teams," said Eisner. "We believe in ourselves. We know we're going up against champions from all over the country and it will be interesting to see how we stack up."
As the Swan River star and former Parkland Ranger captain gets set to embark on his national journey, he will never forget his roots and he thanks everyone back home for their incredible support.
"It's awesome, I have received so much support from friends and family back home," ended Eisner. "My family has been at every single playoff game, it's just awesome to have them by my side."
