Glass Named Goalie of the Week

It was a big playoff series for Bruins Goalie Steven Glass as he lead the Bruins to three wins and a sweep over Notre Dame.

Yesterday the league announced Glass was the goalie of the week in the SJHL for his play during the Survivor Series, Glass picked up all three wins in net for the Bruins. Glass made 100 saves on 108 shots in the series.

The turning point of the series could've been in the first period of Game one when the Hounds peppered the Bruins with 20 shots and Glass stopped all 20 including a few highlight reel saves.

Glass and the rest of the Bruins will now prepare for their highly anticipated series with the Weyburn Red Wings that starts on Friday night, this is the first time the two teams have met in the playoffs in 14 years.

I had a chance to catch up with Glass after practice today

 

Bruins Sweep the Hounds and Move On

The Estevan Bruins completed the sweep over the Notre Dame Hounds with a come from behind win 4-3 over the Hounds. The Bruins take the series 3-0 and will move on to face Weyburn.

Tyler Kauk provided the heroics for the Bruins as took a Tyler Paslawski pass and buried a shot past Hounds goalie Ty Reichenbach to lift the Bruins to a victory and a spot in the Sherwood Conference semi-finals.

The Bruins scored in the first period for the first time in the series as Derek Whitehill gave a perfect pass to Paslawski and scored his second goal of the series giving the Bruins the 1-0 lead. The Hounds would battle back last night like they did all series, Carson Grolla took a puck from the blueline and walked in and scored to tie the game at 1-1. Two minutes later, the Bruins would go on a powerplay but a Bruins miscommunication at the blue line lead to Catlin Foley on a short handed breakaway and he scored to give Notre Dame a 2-1 lead after the first period.

In the second the Bruins would capitalize on the powerplay as Tyler Poskus took a shot from the point and knocked in off the post as the Bruins tied the game at 2-2 after 40 minutes of play, like they did on Saturday in Wilcox.

In the third period, the game remained tie until the Hounds got a late powerplay and with 5:45 left, Greg Ferguson scored giving the Hounds a one goal lead late in the period. The Bruins made another quick turnaround as Dominic Perrault took a shot from the point and scored another clutch goal to tie the game up at 3-3. Despite getting a late powerplay in the third, the Bruins were unable to take the lead and the game required overtime.

In the extra frame it was all Bruins, Calder Neufeld in the opening minute of overtime rang a shot off the post to keep it tied at 3-3. But at the 2:38 mark, Kauk provided the dramatics for the Bruins.

Steven Glass was the Bruins best player in the Survivor Series with 33 saves last night as he picked up another win inside of the Bruins net.

The Bruins will now move on to face the Weyburn Red Wings in the Sherwood Conference Semi-Finals which will kick off on Friday night in Weyburn and you can catch the game on CJ1280 and discoverestevan.com beginning at 7:15.

Here's the call for the game tying goal from Perrault


Here's the game winning call in overtime as Tyler Kauk becomes an overtime hero.


After the game I spoke with Kauk


Also Keith Cassidy stopped by in the post game show.


 

Quick Game 3 Preview for Bruins and Hounds

The Bruins will be looking for the sweep at home against the Notre Dame Hounds tonight as the two teams meet at Spectra Place tonight in Game 3 of their best of 5 Survivor Series. (7:15/Cj1280 and discoverestevan.com)

Even though the series is in favour for the Bruins, both games have been very close with the difference being that the Bruins have been better in the second half of the games. The Bruins scored all 7 of their goals in the second and third periods of this series. With the Hounds’ season on the line tonight you can expect them to have a strong start like they did in Games 1 and 2. If the Bruins want to complete the sweep they’ll have to match the Hounds intensity in the opening 20 minutes. 

The Bruins have gotten their clutch goals in Game 2 from Josh Jelinski and Tyler Paslawski  who’ve been playing great hockey since January along with Matthew Dochylo. Dochylo is questionable for tonight’s game after sitting out Game 2 on Saturday. 

The top line for the Hounds in the series has been Dayton Shaw-Greg Ferguson- Ben Morgan. Each player has scored in the series and has created numerous scoring opportunities in the series.  Carson Grolla has been the stand out on the Hounds blue line and I’m sure he’ll be playing a lot tonight for Notre Dame. 

Game 1 four out of the five goals were scored on the power play, while in Game 2 the Hounds scored the only goal on the power play. 

If the Bruins lose tonight we’ll have Game 4 from Notre Dame tomorrow night from Wilcox with coverage beginning at 7:45 and a 8:00 faceoff. If the Bruins beat the Hounds, the Bruins and Weyburn Red Wings series would likely start on Friday night in Weyburn.

Paslawski Powers Bruins Past Hounds

The CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins are one win away from moving on the playoffs after they came from behind to beat the Notre Dame Hounds 4-3. The game was decided by another late goal as Tyler Paslawski took a pass from Tyler Kauk and buried it past the blocker of Matt Smidt.

The Hounds got the jump on the Bruins in the first period as Ben Morgan used a screen and beat Steven Glass and made it 1-0 for Notre Dame. The Hounds extended their lead in the first when Dayton Shaw took advantage of a Bruin miscommunication in behind of their net and scored as the Hounds lead 2-0 after one.

The Bruins responded with a pair of goals in the second period, Cole Olson took a pass from Calder Neufeld and snuck it under the crossbar and cut the score to 2-1. With less than 40 seconds remaining in the period, a loose scramble took place in front of the Hound's Matt Smidt and Ben Johnstone managed to score for the Bruins to tie the game at 2-2.

The score remained tied until the Hounds went on a powerplay with just over eight minutes left and Carson Grolla scored to give the Hounds 3-2 lead. Less than a minute later Josh Jelinski scored on a loose rebound to draw even. Then three minutes later Paslawski scored to give the Bruins the edge and the win.

Steven Glass made 29 saves to pick up the second straight victory as the Bruins went 0 for 2 on the powerplay while the Hounds were 1 for 4.

The Bruins will have the chance to finish off the Hounds on home ice as they host the Hounds in Game 3 tomorrow night and you can catch it on CJ1280 and discoverestevan.com beginning at 7:15.

Here's the call when Jelinski tied the game in the third period.


Here's the game winner from Paslawski



After the game I spoke with Paslawski

Bruins Win 3-2 Get 1-0 Series Lead

The CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins had to pull another dramatic win as Zach MacLellan scored with 37 seconds left in regulation to give the Bruins a 3-2 win over the Notre Dame Hounds in Game 1 of the Survivor Series.

Steven Glass had to bail out the Bruins in the first period with some stellar goaltending as the Hounds outshot the Bruins 20-8 after the first period but the game remained scoreless after the opening 20 minutes. Here's a clip when the Bruins almost scored the opening goal, and then Notre Dame came and Glass had to make a sprawling stick save.




The Bruin would strike first blood in the second period on the powerplay, Calder Neufeld connected on the powerplay giving Estevan. The Bruins would cling to the 1-0 lead until late in the period when Notre Dame would go on a lengthy 5 on 3 as Greg Ferguson took advantage of a turnover and scored to even up the game after two.

In the third the Bruins jumped out to a lead once again as Austin Yano's point shot went off a stick right to Cole Olson and he scored for the Bruins to gain a 2-1 lead. The Hounds tied it up 5 minutes later as Mitch Boucher found Dayton Shaw in front and he outwaited to Glass and snuck a shot past him to tie the game at 2-2 which setted up for MacLellan's dramatics.





Glass ended up with 38 saves and was the biggest reason for the Bruins with several big time saves for the Bruins. Neufeld, Olson and Yano all had two points in the win for the Bruins.

After the game I spoke with Bruins Head Coach Keith Cassidy.



It's a quick turnaround for the series as it will now move to Wilcox for Game 2 of the series and you can catch it on CJ1280 and discoverestevan.com beginning at 6:45.

2011-12 Bruins Highlight Package

It's really hard to believe that the playoffs is already here, it just seems like it was yesterday the Bruins were opening up Spectra Place against Melville. But too help relive some of the highlights of the regular season and get ready for the playoffs I've put together a highlight package of the Bruins for 2012. In case you don't know the song that accompanies the highlights is "Give It All" by Rise Against, hope you enjoy it.

Q an A with Matthew Dochylo

Earlier this week I caught up with Dominic Perrault and got his thoughts about the Survivor Series and today I spoke with the other 20 year old from the Bruins who was in last year's Survivor Series.

Perrault Ready To Bruins Into Survivor Series

It's a case of deja vu for the Estevan Bruins as they head back into the Survivor Series this time against the Notre Dame Hounds in a series that will kick off on Friday at Spectra Place. (7:15 CJ1280 and discoverestevan.com) The Bruins enter the first round of the playoffs as the favorites against a young upstart team in Notre Dame like last season when the Bruins were favorites over the Melville Millionaires.

Another case of deja vu this season has been the late season emergence of the play of Dominic Perrault on the Bruins blue line. Last season Perrault played his best hockey late in the season and was a big reason for the Bruins getting past the Millionaires in last year's Survivor Series, Perrault scored a pair of goals in Game 5 including the game winner. Perrault thinks a big reason for his play picking up late in the season is because he realizes that the pressure is on himself to step up for the Bruins at this time of year and that's something he thrives on.

With the Bruins entering the Survivor Series, Perrault believes the Bruins will be taking a different approach to this Survivor Series after going the distance with Melville last season. "We have to go in the series with the mentality that Notre Dame is going to be bringing everything that they have so we have to change our approach from last year it's not going to be a cakewalk."

The Bruins and Hounds haven't faced each other since December 15, when the Bruins came from behind and beat the Hounds in a neutral site game in Assiniboia. Perrault noted that it's a little bit of a disadvantage of not seeing Hounds after the Christmas holidays but added that the Bruins have to be focused on their approach and believes if the Bruins can play their own game, they should be fine against the series.

The Hounds have quietly picked up their game in the final month of the season and that's something that Perrault along with the rest of the Bruins have taken notice. "They've been playing really good hockey lately, but we have been as well. We have to go in with the mentality that we're number one and that it's our series to win."

One big difference between the Bruins and the Hounds is their home rinks. Spectra Place in Estevan will likely well over 1,000 fans, possibly even 2,000 people while the Duncan McNeil Arena in Wilcox will only hold a few hundred people and a lot of them could be Bruin fans in this series and Perrault believes that will be an advantage for Estevan. "It's kind of like going from one end to the other, I remember one game at Wilcox there was one more people on the ice than there were in the stands and it will be tough playing in there, but we have to make we can get each other pumped and make sure that we're ready"

Earlier this week I had the chance to speak with Perrault about the upcoming series. Perrault will also be my guest this week on Locker Talk on Access 7 in Estevan at 6:30 and will replayed on Saturday at 12:00 and Sunday evening.

Survivor Series Broadcast Times/Jersey Auction

Here are the broadcast times for the upcoming Survivor Series between the Estevan Bruins and the Notre Dame Hounds, all games can be heard on CJ1280 and discoverestevan.com.

Game 1 @ Estevan Friday  pregame show begins 7:15
Game 2 @ Wilcox Saturday  pregame show begins 6:45
Game 3 @ Estevan Monday pregame show begins 7:15
Game 4 @ Wilcox Tuesday pregame show begins 7:45*if necessary
Game 5 @ Estevan Wednesday pregame show begins 7:15* if necessary


It was a successful jersey auction as they were able to raise nearly $34,000 dollars for the Pure Energy Learning Centre and the Hillcrest Early Learning Centre. Here's a list of all the jerseys and how much they were sold for.



Player                  Winning Bidder                   Amount
Steven Glass        Senchuk Ford                   $500
Tyler Ross              Power Dodge                  $1,000
Tyler Kauk              Alyssa Kauk                  $160
Dominic Perrault  Quality Wireline                $2,600
Zach MacLellan    Tanner Trucking               $500
Denin Boesch        Murray GM                     $500
Eric Baldwin           Nutters                            $275
Michael Hengen    Power Connect                $6,000
Taylor Reich           Fast Track Auto              $2,250
Matthew Dochylo  Gilliss Power Tongs          $4,000
Dylan Smith   Christinia and Wayne Kolb       $2,250
Tanner Froese  Lonestar Directional Drill.       $3,500
Calder Neufeld     D.Hursch                           $520
Derek Whitehill       Mike Lee                         $1,500
Austin Yano            Tanner Trucking              $500
Josh Jelinski          Souris Valley Paving          $4,000
Ben Johnstone      Exsessive Sports                $2,250
Matt Brykaliuk       Gail Chillman                   $210
Tyler Paslawski     Mike Lee                          500
Cole Olson               Tanner Trucking            $500
Tyler Poskus           Vytas Poskus                 $150
Connor Milligan     Brit Zahn                          $200

Cassidy Nominated for Coach of the Year

The nominations for the SJHL Coach of the Year were announced this morning by the league, as the Bruins Keith Cassidy was the lone nominee from the Sherwood Conference. Also nominated for the award was Doug Johnson from Nipawin, Kevin Hasselberg from Battlefords and Dean Brockman from Humboldt.

The award is selected by the SJHL media, and I know that it's going to be tough to determine the top coach.

Earlier today I had the chance to speak with Bruins Head Coach Keith Cassidy and the other Bruin nominees.

Bruins Award Nominees

The SJHL announced the league nominees for the league's awards today with the announcement of each team's nominees. Here's a look at the Estevan Bruins nominees.

Rookie of the Year
Tyler Kauk.

The toughest award for the Estevan Bruins to decide with their solid group of rookie 18 year old players. Kauk, Austin Yano, Taylor Reich and Steven Glass were all legitimate candidates to be named the Bruins top rookie. (And players like Matt Brykaliuk, Tanner Froese and others aren't too shabby as well) Kauk has been playing his best hockey of the season for the Bruins over the last few weeks. He's been displaying more confidence by rushing the puck inside of the other team's zone, along with his hard shot from the point. Kauk has been a heavy hitter for the Bruins all season long and has emerged as one of the best 18 year old d-men in the SJHL.

Defenceman of the Year
Connor Milligan

This nominee may have come as a surprise to people outside of Estevan, but since being acquired from Camrose, Milligan has been the Bruins most consistent defenceman with his sold play inside of the Bruins defensive end of the ice. Milligan has been able to bring the best out of his defensive partner this season whether it's been Dominic Perrault, Zach MacLellan or one of the Bruins 18 year rookie defenceman. The Bruins really missed Milligan's veteran presence when he was injured with a concussion in November, but since returning Milligan has resumed his role as being a leader on the Bruins blue line.

Player of the Year
Dylan Smith

Smith claimed his second scoring title with the Bruins with his 37 goals and 37 assists this season. Smith has been able to generate a ton of offence playing on a line with Calder Neufeld and Cole Olson. Whether it's front of the net scoring goals or dishing passes from the corner, Smith along with his linemates have been igniting the Bruins offence all season. At points this season, Smith has been asked to play with some of the younger players and Smith responded in a positive way. With the postseason, Smith will be leaned on by the Bruins to deliver some big time goals.










Most Valuable Player
Josh Jelinski

Jelinski is the heart and soul of the Bruins and the score sheet is a very small indicator on how much he means to the Bruins. Jelinski plays with a hard work ethic that inspires all of his teammates. When the Bruins need a spark you will probably find Jelinski on the ice delivering a hit or some other type of big play to get the Bruins going. Jelinski is viewed as the ideal captain with his ability to lead the team with his actions on the ice and inside of the locker room. When Jelinski was sidelined with a concussion that sidelined him for nearly two months, the Bruins struggled without their captain. After the christmas break Jelinski formed a line with Tyler Paslawski and Matthew Dochylo and the three have been the Bruins most consistent line at both ends of the ice. With the gritty nature of the playoffs the Bruins will be leaning on heavily on the Jelinski-Dochylo-Paslawski line throughout the post season to score some big goals and too shut down the other teams top lines.

Goalie of the Year
Steven Glass

The Bruins have had 4 different goaltenders suit up for them this season, but in the end Steven Glass was chosen as their best goaltender. Even though he is an 18 year old rookie, Glass played like a seasoned veteran stealing games for the Bruins in places like Melville and Yorkton ethis season. After suffering a knee injury in early January, there was some doubt if Glass would be able to come back, let alone play at the high level he played earlier in the season. But Glass answered any questions in his first game back as he picked up a shutout against the Kindersley Klippers on Feb. 2. Glass faced a lot of rubber at the end of the season with a combined total of 89 shots against Yorkton, and Humboldt on Feb.8 or 11. Despite the Bruins scoring a pair of games in those games Glass gave the Bruins a chance to win in both games. It looks like Tyler Ross is going to head into the postseason as the starter for the Bruins, but there's no doubt that Glass is an option if he's called upon at some point during the post season.

Bruins End Season With Loss to Weyburn

The CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins regular season ended with some bad luck as they were defeated by the Weyburn Red Wings 4-2, the Bruins end their season with a .500 record (28-28-0-2) and lost the season series to Weyburn (5-3)

The Bruins opened up the scoring in the first period as Matthew Dochylo drove to the net drawing a penalty against the Red Wings, with the extra attacker on the ice Josh Jelinski found Tyler Paslawski in front of the net and Paslawski delivered his 11th goal of the season to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.

In the second, Weyburn tied the game when Jesse Ross scored his 46th goal of the season for the Red Wings. The Bruins would regain the lead when Matt Brykaliuk found Tanner Froese along in front and Froese scored his 14th goal of the year to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead after two periods.

Weyburn responded in the third on the powerplay as Kyle Olenuik scored for the Red Wings on a loose scramble in front of the Bruins Tyler Ross to tie the game at 2-2. That's how the score remained until just over four minutes left when the Red Wing's Keegan Bruce attempted pass went off a Bruins skate and past Ross and the Red Wings grabbed the lead for good with a 3-2 lead. Miguel Pereria would add an empty netter to finish off the scoring.

After the game Bruins Head Coach Keith Cassidy noted that he was happy with the team's effort and was dissappointed that the Bruins lost because of a bad bounce. He pointed out the play of the Bruins AP's Connor Venne and Rhett Handley and said the Bruins future is looking bright.

With Tyler Ross starting for the second straight game on the weekend, it appears that Ross will get the start for Friday's game but he noted that no decision has been made as of yet. The total attendence for tonight's game was 2,115.

The Bruins will now open the Survivor Series on Friday against Notre Dame, you can catch the game on CJ1280 beginning at 7:20.

After the game I spoke with Bruins Head Coach Keith Cassidy about the game.

Bruins and Red Wing Notes

The Estevan Bruins will wrap up their regular season tonight when they host the Weyburn Red Wings at Spectra Place. (5:50 pregame on CJ1280 and discoverestevan.com.) Here's a few things to keep in mind for this evening's game.

-- A win by the Bruins would give them a record above .500. The Bruins have a record of 28-27-0-2. Last year the Bruins ended up with a record of 29-23-4-2.

-- The Bruins will be looking to even up the season series against Weyburn. The Red Wings lead the series 4-3 right now with the Bruins holding a 2-1 record against them at Spectra Place.

-- On Friday the Bruins called up a pair of Moose Jaw Generals (Dylan Johner and Darcy Deroose) and according to Bruins Director of Player Personnel Rick Oakes tweet this morning, the Bruins will be calling up a pair of Tisdale Trojans for tonight's game as local product Rhett Handley and Connor Venne will be in the lineup for the Bruins. Venne has 11 goals and 18 assists for the Trojans this season while Handley has 12 goals and 5 assists with 62 penalty minute.

-- Dylan Smith will win the scoring crown for the Bruins for the second time in his three year career with the Bruins. (Smith had 38 points in 45 games back in 2009-10) Smith has a chance to pick up 40 goals on the season with 37 goals coming into tonight's game. Calder Neufeld is second on the team with 34 goals.

-- The Bruins top two rookies in scoring will be out tonight as Taylor Reich will end his rookie campaign with 32 points in 49 games and Austin Yano will end off with 27 points. Tyler Kauk isn't too far behind with 23 points on the season.

-- The Bruins will be auctioning off  9 of their special jerseys today (pictured above) with the proceeds going to Hillcrest Early Learning Centre and Pure Energy Learning Centre.

-- That's it for now. Since I've interviewed all of the players for the intermissions this season, I'm going to have a little fun for today's game as I will be doing an interview with Dylan Smith and Calder Neufeld. Lucas Stubel will be joining me on color, fresh off Bienfait's 9-4 win Balcarres last night in their provincial series last night. So tune in pregame show once again at 5:50.

Bruins Beat Wings 6-3

The CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins final game on the road was one of their finest performances as they picked up a 6-3 win over Weyburn.

The Bruins opened the scoring in the first as Matt Brykaliuk and Cole Olson scored within a minute of each other as the Bruins lead 2-0 early. The Bruins would go on a powerplay later in the first period, which ended up the Bruins giving up their 9th shorthanded goal of the season as Miguel Pereira scored for the Red Wings. But the Bruins would strike back later on the powerplay as Calder Neufeld replied with his 34th goal of the season and the Bruins lead 3-1 after the first.

In the second period after Weyburn cut the lead to 3-2, the Bruins blueline responded with a pair of goals as Dominic Perrault and Tyler Poskus scored for Estevan as the Bruins lead 5-2 after two periods. Perrault had a strong game last night as he was a physical force all night as he played the body and continued to be more aggressive offensively as well. Perrault was paired with Tyler Kauk last night and the pair was dominant all night for the Bruins at both ends of the ice and it will be interesting to see if they're paired together in the playoffs.

It was a tale of two tales in the third period, with the opening ten minutes featuring great back an forth action and very few whistles. Weyburn scored to make the score 5-3 before they ran into penalty troubles, giving the Bruins four powerplay opportunities and AP Darcy Deroose from the Moose Jaw Generals of the Sask AAA Midget league scored his first SJHL goal late in the third. Deroose and Dylan Johner didn't look out of place in their debuts, Johner picked up an assist for his first SJHL point.

Tyler Ross picked up the win with 29 saves in the win for the Bruins. The Bruins will close out the regular season tomorrow night when they host the Red Wings and you can catch the game on CJ1280 beginning at 7:20.

After the game last night I spoked with Bruins Head Coach Keith Cassidy.

Jay Onrait and Don Narcisse Guest Speakers for EMF Dinner

Estevan Minor Football wanted to make this year's fundraising dinner a huge success and I would say mission accomplished with the announcement that TSN's Jay Onrait and Rider legend Don Narcisse will be the guest speakers.

 Here is the official release from Estevan Minor Football.

One thrilled Estevan with his wit and humor during TSN’s Kraft Celebration Tour last summer. The other thrilled Saskatchewan Roughrider fans during a career spanning 13 years. 

Together, they’re coming to Estevan as part of Penta Completions Estevan Minor Football and the Estevan Elecs latest fundraising venture.

The Estevan Football Family is pleased to announce TSN SportsCentre host Jay Onrait and CFL Hall of Famer Don Narcisse as the guest speakers for it’s annual fundraising dinner. The event is set for April 14 at the Estevan Curling Rink.

Returning to emcee the event is Michael Ball, known to many for his role in CKRM’s Roughrider radio coverage.

Onrait co-hosts the 1 a.m. ET weekday edition of SportsCentre alongside Dan O’Toole. Viewers can also catch the duo each morning as that broadcast repeats on a loop until 1 p.m. ET the following day. Onrait was the host of Olympic Morning on CTV for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and will be part of the coverage for this summer’s Olympic Games in London, England.

But we remember Onrait for what he brought to Estevan last August during TSN’s Kraft Celebration Tour. The singing and dancing on-stage that energized the crowd and made that day’s edition of SportsCentre one local sports fans will never forget.

“Estevan Minor Football is continually blessed with the support we have received from our city, community, province, and now from all over,” says EMF president Steve McLellan.

“Being named a stop on the Kraft Celebration Tour 2011 allowed our wonderful community and program to be showcased to the entire country. Hosting Jay and Dan, as well as the rest of the Celebration tour gang was definitely a highlight of 2011. Anyone that attended, or watched the Kraft Celebration Tour stop on TV was treated to a great party and memory that hopefully we can build on April 14. Jay Onrait is a truthfully great guy, with an amazing sense of humor that I am sure will be on display once more in Estevan,” McLellan stated.

Narcisse, inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in 2010, signed with the Roughriders on Sept. 1, 1987. He is a four-time CFL all-star, five-time divisional all-star, and was the Roughriders most popular player in 1994, 1995 and 1998. Of course, he was also a member of that Roughriders magical team which won the Grey Cup in 1989. And who can forget his touchdown dance? And the glass cutter gloves?

“To host Don Narcisse, the best receiver ever in the storied history of the Saskatchewan Roughriders is truly an honor for the Estevan Football Family,” McLellan says.

“Growing up watching legends such as Don in the CFL, has had a huge influence on the passion of many of us involved with the Estevan Football Family. Witnessing the tremendous support Don has received during and after his CFL career in Saskatchewan, he is sure to be a very captivating personality on April 14.”

As for Ball, he did a bang-up job emceeing last year’s dinner that it was an easy decision to have him back. He’s clever, funny and great at ad-libbing. Ball is also the current play-by-play voice of the University of Regina Rams and is part of the morning show on The Wolf 104.9. McLellan expects nothing but laughs from Ball.

“If last year was any indication, Michael is a tremendous emcee, and will provide many laughs while hosting the event. I personally cannot wait to see the banter between Jay and Michael.”

“Michael is a huge fan of the Estevan Football Family, and is a great supporter of minor football in the province,” McLellan concluded.

Tickets for the dinner are available at Henders Drugs. Price per ticket is $50. If you’re interested in a corporate table, please call Val (421-9850 or 388-2994) or e-mail vpaulson@sasktel.net. You can also call Wanda (634-3147 evenings) or e-mail theharrons@sasktel.net. Only 500 tickets will be sold.

Hard Knocks Returns To Estevan

MMA returns to Estevan on Saturday, March 3 with Hard Knocks Fighting Championship at Spectra Place. The first card was a huge success and there's plenty of anticipation for the second card. Last week I caught up with CEO Ari Taub.

Tuesday This and That

The Estevan Bruins playoff fate was sealed on the weekend as they’re heading to the Survivor Series next weekend likely starting next Friday in Estevan. I’ll spend more time talking about that next week since that series is still 10 days away from beginning.

The SJHL twitter listed some possible candidates for Rookie of the year and the one Bruin mentioned was Austin Yano. I wonder if Yano if the top rookie for the Bruins this season so I’ll leave that question on the right hand side to gauge the interest of the readers. 

Taylor Reich is likely out for the Survivor Series and that’s going to be a huge loss for the Bruins. Reich is one of the top 18 year olds in the SJHL this season with his ability to play many roles for the Bruins. There’s a chance Reich will be back in the second round if the Bruins make it that far.

Just a reminder the Bruins will be wearing their special jerseys on Sunday and will be auctioning the jerseys of Josh Jelinski, Derek Whitehill, Dominic Perrault, Matthew Dochylo, Michael Hengen, Tanner Froese, Ben Johnstone, and Dylan Smith at the game, while the rest of the jerseys are currently being auctioned off online at estevanbruins.com. The bidding for those jerseys closes on Monday at 12:00. The Bruins will also unveil the brand new mascot on Sunday. 

Now for Some NHL and CFL thoughts of mine. 

 It just might be me, but isn’t the NHL trading deadline shaping up to be a very quiet one. I just can’t see the Blue Jackets trading Rick Nash until after the season, but if he goes anywhere at the deadline I would say LA. Just because they have the players to send to Columbus and since they’re sitting in 7^th in the West, you would think they would be more desperate than other teams like the Rangers or Philly. 

Even if the deadline is quiet on February 27, you can count me as one of those guys who will be spending the day watching TSN even if nothing happens. 

CFL free agency kicks off tomorrow and finally the Andy Fantuz saga should come to an end. I don’t think Fantuz is coming back, but I would have no problem if he came back. I think some team like Toronto and Hamilton is going to throw a lot of money at him. Weyburn’s Brendon LaBatte seems Rider bound judging the comments from the Bombers today. It’s a no brainer for the Riders to go after an All-Canadian offensive lineman with local ties. I would still like to see Tristan Jackson back for the Riders, he was one of the best Riders pickup in the offseason last season.

Broncos Beat Bruins 6-2. Bruins Heading to Survivor Series

The CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins went toe to toe with the best team in the SJHL, the Humboldt Broncos but in the end the Bruins lost 6-2 as the Bruins will now officially in third place and will mee the Notre Dame Hounds in two weeks time.

The Bruins had some chances early in the first period as they created a few turnovers inside of the Broncos zone, but Matt Hrinkw shut the door on the Bruins including a big glove save on Tyler Paslawki.

The Broncos would get the only goal in the first period when Neil Landry's shot went off a leg in front and the Bruins trailed 1-0 after the first.

The Bruins had a glorious opportunity in the second period to tie the game with a power play that was followed up by four minute power play, but the Bruins were unable to score on the man advantage.

The Broncos came back with a pair of deflection goals that went past Steven Glass from Ryan Marshall and Andrew Herle.

The Bruins did respond with a goal from Dominic Perrault, but the Broncos responded shortly with a goal from Marshall again as they lead 4-1 after two periods.

The Broncos opened the scoring before Cole Olson scored his 16th goal of the season to make the final 6-2 in favor of Humboldt. Steven Glass made 49 saves in the loss as the Bruins fall to 27-27-0-1.

The Bruins will close the season with a home and home set with Weyburn this weekend as they start in Weyburn on Friday night. 

What a Night. Bruins Win 3-2 in a Shootout over Kindersley

First off thank you to the Dochylo's for the birthday cake. In case you're wondering it's a chocolate coffee style and was very delicious.

After the Bruins only registered 10 shots in their loss to Yorkton, the Bruins turned around and piled 59 shots on the Klipper's Justin McDonald in a 3-2 shootout win.

Calder Neufeld opened the scoring for the Bruins, but Austin McDonald would tie the game a few minutes later.

In the third period, the Klippers would get the lead as Justin Lund deflected a shot past the Bruins Tyler Ross with just over 6 minutes left. With the McDonald standing on his head for the Klippers, you couldn't blame the Bruins if they were starting to get frustrated and wonder if they were ever going to beat McDonald.

But at the 2:40 mark, Tanner Froese stole a pass from McDonald and snuck it past him to tie the game up.

In the shootout, Kindersley had a 1-0 edge before Froese would tie the shootout up with a deke to his backhand. After a Kindersley miss, Neufeld pulled off the same move he used in Battlefords last Friday, he skated straight ahead with plenty of speed, stopped at hash marks and buried top shelf past McDonald.

The Bruins faithful would go home happy as Ross would stop the Klippers Colby Daniels in the final round of the shootout, afterwards Ross celebrated the win by Tebowing.

It was a nice turnaround for the Bruins after a pair of losses, the Neufeld-Smith-Olson had so many chances to score last night. After being split apart for the most part these last few weeks it seems like the three are hitting their strides once again as we head to the playoffs after playing the full game together.

The line of Ben Johnstone-Tanner Froese-Dayton Picard had a really strong game for Estevan. Picard didn't look out of place in his second game with the Bruins (first one was Nov.15 in Notre Dame) Johnstone was hitting everything in a blue jersey last night and Froese scoring two clutch goals. The Bruins are going to need some secondary scoring from players like Froese and Johnstone if they are going to make any kind of playoff run and last night it was that line who stepped up for the Bruins. Plenty of local talent on that line as well with Carlyle (Johnstone) Stoughton (Picard) Estevan (Froese) represented.

Austin Yano left the game in the first period with an upper body, his status is up in the air as of right now.  

The Bruins are back at it tonight when they meet the Humboldt Broncos, if the Bruins would get a win tonight, they would win the season series with the RBC Cup hosts. You can catch the game on CJ1280 and discoverestevan.com beginning at 7:20.

Just below I'm posting the final four shooters from last night's shootout.

Bruins Host Klippers Tonight

The Estevan Bruins will be looking to get back to their winning ways when they host the Kindersley Klippers tonight at Spectra Place, the Bruins have lost their last two games including a 5-2 loss to Kindersley last Saturday.

The Bruins hopes of finishing third in the conference were all but wiped away on Wednesday when they were shut out by the Yorkton Terriers 3-0. The one bright spot for the Bruins in the loss was Steven Glass who made 40 saves in the loss. If any team is expected to make a run in the post season they need a hot goalie and ever since Glass returned from his knee injury last week he has regained his form from early in December when he stole back to back games on the road in Yorkton and Melville. Glass numbers may not be among in the top ten in the SJHL but there should be no doubt that Glass is among the elite goaltenders in the SJHL and he has the ability to steal a series for the Bruins down the road.

With the Bruins likely headed for the Survivor Series against the Notre Dame Hounds in two weeks time,  the biggest thing for the Bruins is to head into the series playing good hockey. The Bruins have shown flashes of the play throughout the last month but now it's time for the Bruins to turn the corner and put together a string of solid games together.

The Bruins were without Austin Yano, Taylor Reich and Eric Baldwin on Wednesday and out of those three players I would expect that Yano would have the best shot of getting back into the lineup since he was out with an illness. Reich was going to see a specialist on his shoulder yesterday while Baldwin still has a nagging ankle injury.

The Bruins have gone 3-1-1 against the Klippers this season and will be looking to regain the scoring ability they showed against the Klippers on Jan.20 when they scored 6 goals in the first period on their way to a 8-1 win over Kindersley.

You can catch the game on CJ1280 and discoverestevan.com beginning at 7:20 with the pregame show. Former Bruin, Lucas Stubel will be joining me in the booth tonight. And just a reminder the remainder of the Bruins games will be on air for the rest of the season.

Bruins Weekly Winners

Last week the Bruins embarked on a three game road trip through Kindersley and Battlefords. The Bruins opened the road trip with 4-0 win in Kindersley on Thursday before a 7-6 shootout loss in Battlefords on Friday and they wrapped a the trip with a 5-2 loss against Kindersley on Saturday.

Player of the Week

Matthew Dochylo 

This was a toss up between Calder Neufeld and Dochylo, but last weekend Dochylo played some of his best hockey since being acquired by the Bruins last season. Dochylo scored a pair of goals in Kindersley, and added another pair in Battlefords. Dochylo continues to be dominant in the corners, and it's becoming very difficult for opposing d-men to knock him off the puck. Dochylo formed great chemistry with Josh Jelinski and Tyler Paslawski and the trio will likely be a big factor for the Bruins during their playoff run.

Defenceman and Rookie of the Week

Tyler Kauk

It was a big week for Kauk as he was named defenceman of the week in the SJHL. Kauk picked up 6 assists last week with four of them coming  in Battlefords. Kauk has been a heavy hitter all season and lately we’ve seen Kauk show more confidence by rushing the puck more into the opponent’s end. Kauk’s offensive numbers are continuing to pile up if he continues this current trend.

Unsung Hero of the Week

Steven Glass

After being sidelined with a knee injury that almost required surgery, Glass came back into the Bruins lineup and shut out the Klippers last Thursday. While Glass did give up 6 goals in the loss to Battlefords, he did battle back in the shootout as he stopped 7 out of 9 shots in the shootout, and against a team like Battlefords, I think that’s impressive.

The Bruins will host Yorkton tonight, and then entertain the Klippers on Friday followed by the Humboldt Broncos coming to town on Saturday night.