No family atmosphere was shown by the Humboldt Broncos on the ice Monday, as they blasted the rival Melfort Mustangs by a 6-0 margin.

It was a drastic turnaround for the Broncos, who were stuck in their own end for a large part of the opening period.

"We didn't like our start, but Parker (Tobin) was there and our penalty killing did a great job. A big shorthanded goal by Nick (Shumlanski) got us going," said Head Coach Darcy Haugan following the game.

Shumlanski's goal came just past the midway point of the opening period and would be his first of two goals in the first, scoring once again late in the period.

After most of the second was scoreless, Captain Logan Schatz found the back of the net to make it 3-0 Humboldt through two periods.

The Broncos added three more in the third, with Brayden Camrud, Bryce Fiske, and Jacob Leicht each getting a goal.

Parker Tobin recorded his second shutout of the season, denying all 36 shots faced from Mustangs attackers.

Despite the win, Haugan says they will use the game as a learning tool moving forward.

"Overall, there is going to be plenty of learning opportunities when we watch the video clips. We weren't very good in a lot of areas, making life too difficult for us. Sometimes you just need to gut it out."

The Broncos are likely to see the Mustangs atleast four more times this season, as with just a handful of games remaining in the regular season, the two teams are virtually locked into a 4th vs 5th series to start the playoffs.

Any talk of playoffs, however, is still five games away for the Broncos, who hit the highway on Friday to take on the La Ronge Ice Wolves in the first of two games up north. 

The two teams will play once again on Saturday to wrap up the season series.

Following Monday's game, which saw 748 in attendance, the Broncos welcomed fans to ice level to enjoy a special Family Day post-game skate with the team.