Coming into their sixth and final preseason game of the year Thursday night, the Kindersley Klippers had a 4-1 record after games against a divisional rival in the Battlefords North Stars and two Sherwood Division opponents. Their Sherwood Division tour continued when they finished up the preseason with a 4-3 Overtime win against the Melfort Mustangs where neither team had more than a one goal lead at any point.

The game got off to a fiery start when the Mustangs had a possible 2-on-1 form, but the shot went right into the logo for the first of 40 saves for Matthew Pesenti in net, but as he covered the puck he got an accidental snow shower from Carter Anderson and a scrum insued. Mark Snarr was picked out of the pile for the Klippers.

Shortly after both penalties were done, Jaxon Georget got the Klippers on the board. On a quick breakout from their own zone, the puck squirted up the wall to Mason Svarich on his own blueline, and he made beautiful seeing eye pass to Georget on the left side of the ice already with a head of steam. He had teammates with him as he entered the offensive zone but kept things simple and fired a shot from the top of the circle, beating Vaughn Holbeche's glove wide side for the game's first lead five minutes in.

The Mustangs tied it at the halfway mark of the period when Ty Albrecht brought the puck down the right side of the ice and cut across to the left, letting his entire team catch up into the zone with him. Once he reached the left faceoff dot, he stopped and circled back towards the top of the slot and took a shot that was tipped by Coletyn Boyarski, and Pesenti made the initial save, but not the reobord and Curtis Hammond tapped it into the open cage.

Each team got a powerplay opportunity at the end of the period that overlapped for 32 seconds of 4-on-4, but neither team could strike.

After 1: Klippers 1 - 1 Mustangs, Shots 13-13

The Klippers did more surviving than anything in the second peroid, partly because it didn't start well. A mental lapse saw the team take a too many men on the ice penalty 1:01 into the period. Again the Klippers killed off the penalty, but it took some wind out early.

The Klippers got a powerplay of their own but didn't generate much. After the ten minute mark, Logan Linklater got behind the defence on a breakaway and had his shot stopped, so Ben Tkachuk went down the ice the other way for the Mustangs and made a nice mover to get around the outside of Hunter Laroque, and Tkachuk right in front of the crease roofed it to finish a beautiful end to end rush and give the Mustangs the lead.

Shortly after the goal, the Klippers were faced with two more consecutive penalties only seperated by 1:10 from the end of Tylin Hillbig's tripping call and Max Kathol's high stick, and that again stimied any offence they could put together before the end of the period. Pesenti was the star of the period, making 16 saves on 17 shots.

After 2: Klippers 1 - 2 Mustangs, Shots 30-19 Mustangs

Early in the period, the Klippers tied things up to set the stage for a high paced third period. The bread and butter for the Klippers has been causing turnovers at the blue line and making teams pay for it, and that's what happened when Karsten Gorrill blew a tire while trying to hold the puck in the Klippers zone. Linklater scooped it up and sent it ahead for Mark Snarr who burst into the Mustangs zone right down the middle, and he cut right while sending the puck left for Ethan King, and he fired fivehole to tie the game.

Before the halfway mark of the period, the Mustangs took the lead right back. The play started on a stretch pass from goaltender Vaughn Holbeche to the right of his net for Hammond who brought the puck into the zone and behind the net where a pileup started. Albrecht brought the puck to right side of the net and tried to find some space before dumping it back to Hammond on the left, and from the side of the net he made gorgeous behind the back pass to a waiting Coletyn Boyarski in front who had an easy onetimer for the goal.

Both teams kept pace with each other through the rest of the period even when the Klippers were down a man with seven minutes left to play on a Jack Michell hooking penalty, but it wouldn't be until the final minute when the Klippers would tie it. As the last minute of play started, the Klippers were able to break out of their own zone and Pesenti followed his team up ice for the extra man, and that man end up being the hero. As his team worked the puck near the goal, Aiden Bangs came on the ice, and after a failed clear attempt from the Mustangs, Bangs got the puck and shot. It was redirected well in front of the net but it started a scramble, and the puck end up back on Bangs' stick where he hammered home the rebound as he fell with just 39 seconds left in the game.

After 3: Klippers 3 - 3 Mustangs, Shots 42-31 Mustangs

Overtime didn't last long. Off the draw, Noah Lindsay poked the puck by his opponent in the faceoff circle and used the extra room of 3-on-3 to cut wide right with the puck to enter the zone. He sent it behind the net for Austin Lamotte, and the team cycled the puck until Lindsay got it back on the wall and made a beautiful around a defender to come in towards the net on a sharp angle from the left side of the net. A quick move to the backhand gave him the room he needed to put the puck through the fivehole, and the game was over 29 seconds into overtime.

FINAL: Klippers 4 - 3 Mustangs (OT), shots 43-32 Mustangs

The Klippers now have the week off before the regular season begins against the Battlefords North Stars on September 24. You can listen to every road game during the regular season as Nick Nielsen will have the call on Country 104.