The Red River Mudbugs earned a 5–4 win over the Mitchell Mustangs on Friday night, before coming up short in Grunthal on Saturday in Hanover Tache Junior Hockey League action.
In front of the home crowd at St. Jean Arena on Friday, the Mudbugs controlled much of the opening 40 minutes, scoring four straight to build a 4–0 lead. Tyson Froese opened the scoring late in the first, while Griffin Hilderbrand struck twice and Ethan Clace added another on the power play early in the second. Mitchell finally answered with a late power-play goal to cut the score to 4–1 heading into the third.
The Mustangs made it interesting, scoring three times in the third period — including a pair of power-play goals from Archer Ives — but Reece Fehr’s tally at 11:39 stood up as the winner. Red River goaltender Connor Parago was busy throughout the night, turning away 37 shots for the victory.
On Saturday, the Mudbugs ran into a quick-striking Grunthal team, falling behind 5–1 in the opening period. The Red Wings scored five goals in a span of 14 minutes, including two from Carter Ritchot and singles from Michael Martens, Dylan Suttorp, and Brayden Dyck.
Red River clawed back with goals from Traeton Peters, Caleb Boulanger, and Gavin Hildebrandt, the latter on the power play midway through the third, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome. Parago stopped every shot he faced before giving way to Tyler Blanchette, who finished the game in relief.
The Mudbugs return home Friday, Nov. 14, when they host Grunthal for a rematch at St. Jean Arena. Red River then travels to Ste. Anne on Saturday, Nov. 15 for a 6 p.m. puck drop.
Red River remains positioned in the middle of the HTJHL standings as the early-season schedule continues to tighten.
