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.
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