The Moose Jaw Peewee Mustangs mowed down the competition throughout the weekend, but then their offence ran dry in the final of the 2017 Christopher Sauder Memorial Tournament.

After going 4-0 in the round robin, the Mustangs fell 7-0 to the Winnipeg Sidewinders in the tournament final on Sunday at Mosaic Place.

“We ran into a good team and we just didn’t seem to have an answer. Their goalie played great at the beginning, which kind of frustrated us and that was it, the door was shut,” said Head Coach Steve Michaluk.

“I’m still proud of our guys, we had a great weekend and it was fun to play and that’s the point of it, it’s an early tournament in May and we get to play against a team from Winnipeg, two Saskatoon teams – teams that we don’t regularly see – so it was great to gain this experience.”

The Mustangs scored 40 goals in their four round robin games, which included a 6-5 win over the Sidewinders, but they couldn’t find the back of the net during the final. Winnipeg was able to get rolling early, taking a 3-0 lead in the first period and then stifled Moose Jaw the rest of the way.

The Sidewinders’ went 2-2 in the round robin, beating the Saskatoon Stealth 13-3 on Saturday and then splitting their two games on Sunday, topping the Saskatoon Snipers 7-3 and falling to the Regina Outlaws 6-5 to finish the round robin.

After picking up some big wins throughout the round robin, Michaluk said they may have let off the gas a bit in the final.

“It’s a good lesson that we learned today, that the work isn’t done, there’s better lacrosse to be played and there’s improvement that’s still needed, so we were trying to send that message today and Winnipeg delivered it to us,” said Michaluk.

“We’ll have to turn it into a positive after the sting goes away and get back to work this week.”

The loss in the final was the first this season for the Mustangs as they’re sitting at 7-0 in the Queen City Box Lacrosse League. They were able to carry that strong play over to this weekend with some big wins in the round robin.

The Mustangs won 7-1 over the Snipers in their tournament opener on Saturday with Carter Michaluk picking up two goals and three points in the win.

In their second game on Saturday, the Mustangs battled their way to a hard fought 6-5 win over Winnipeg. Michaluk had a hat trick to lead the way for the Mustangs in the win, while Lukas Salkin finished with a goal and two points.

The Mustangs started the day on Sunday with a 14-3 win over the Outlaws. Mason Williams had four goals to lead the offence for Moose Jaw, while Michaluk continued his strong tournament with three goals and six points.

Eric Woodley had two goals and four points in the win as well.

Moose Jaw finished the round robin with a 13-4 win over the Stealth to book their ticket into the final. Dalton Cushway had a goal and four points in the win, while Michaluk picked three goals and five points.

Josh Johnson also had two goals and three points in the win.

“We passed the ball well for the most part, we played smart and managed the 30-second shot clock quite well, so we’re learning the little aspects of the game that will hopefully help us,” said Michaluk.

The Mustangs will return to league play on Wednesday when they head to the Queen City to battle the Regina Roughnecks at the Al Ritchie Arena.