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.

Kauk Named Defenceman of the Week

A big week for one rookie Bruin defenceman has landed him a weekly award from the SJHL as Tyler Kauk was named this week's winner of defenceman of the week.

Kauk picked up six assists for the Bruins last week during their three game road trip in Kindersley and Battlefords. Kauk picked up 4 assists in the Bruins loss to Battlefords on Friday.

On the season Kauk has 4 goals and  19 assists. Austin Yano was a runner up for defenceman of the week.

Ian McNulty of Melville was the winner of player of the week as the Bruins Calder Neufeld and Dylan Smith were runner ups.

Davis Jones of Nipawin was the winner of goalie of the week.

Four games on the SJHL schedule tonight, the Drilling Estevan Bruins will be back in action tomorrow night when they meet the Yorkton Terriers.

Opening faceoff is 7:30.

Bruins End Road Trip With 5-2 Loss to Kindersley

The Estevan Bruins wasted a golden opportunity to gain some ground on the Melville Millionaires as they were defeated by the Kindersley Klippers 5-2 last night, giving the Klippers their first regulation win since November 26.

The Bruins and Klippers each had a slow first period as only registered four shots. The lone highlight came from Cole Olson. With the Bruins on the powerplay, Olson did a spin-o-rama back hand pass to Dylan Smith in front of the net who buried it for his 36^th goal of the season to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead after the first period.

In the second period, the score remained 1-0 until Colby Daniels banked a shot off a Bruins defenceman past Tyler Ross to tie the game at 1-1. For the Klippers that snapped a shutout streak of 117 minutes against the Bruins over the last three games. Daniels wasn’t finished as 5 minutes later scored to give the Klippers the lead. Before the end of the period Travis Geislinger extended the Klippers lead to 3-1. 

In the third period, the Bruins needed a spark to get back into the game and when they went on the powerplay with 13 minutes remaining they were hoping to cut the gap to one goal, instead Bradley Buckingham got a breakaway and scored shorthanded to put the game away at 4-1. Smith would deflect a Tyler Poskus shot past Brandon Stone late in the third period as the Bruins trailed 4-2 before Alex Laird added an empty netter to make the final 5-2. 

The Bruins ended their road trip going 1-1-1 and now sit four points back of Melville for third place with the Mils having a pair of games in hand. The Bruins allowed 5 valuable points slipped from their hands this week with regulation losses to Battleford and Kindersley and a shootout loss to the Northstars which may cost them the chance to finish out of the Survivor Series.

If the Bruins would win their remaining 5 games, Melville would have to get 7 points in their final 7 games in order to finish ahead of the Bruins. 

The Bruins are off until Wednesday when they host the Yorkton Terriers at Spectra Place at 7:30.  

Bruins Lose A Thriller In Battlefords

In a game for the ages the Estevan Bruins were defeated by the Battlefords Northstars 7-6 in the 9th round of the shootout.

The Bruins got off to a strong first period, with the Bruins northern connection scoring for Estevan. Matthew Dochylo (Christopher Lake) opened the scoring 38 seconds into the first period to give the Bruins an early edge. Dylan Smith (Big River) added to the Bruins lead with his 35th of the season and Calder Neufeld (Carrot River) capped off the scoring with a power play goal in the final minute giving the Bruins a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.

The Northstars came back in the second period with a pair of goals with Kyle Hall scoring a shorthanded goal to make it 3-1 and then Blake Tatchell scored his first of the night to cut the lead to 3-2. But before the period came to an end Neufeld scored his second powerplay goal of the night and his fourth powerplay goal of the road trip to give the Bruins a 4-2 edge after two periods of play.

In the third period, the Northstars took advantage of an early powerplay as Tatchell scored his second of the night to make it a one goal game once again. Minutes later, Cole Olson sniped his 15th of the season and the Bruins once again had a two goal lead. The Northstars cut the lead to a one goal margin as Robbie Newton scored for Battlefords on a loose rebound making it a 5-4 score.

Lady luck gave the Bruins a break as Dochylo shot the puck from the red line and some how went past the Northstar's Connor Creech and the Bruins lead 6-4 with 7:20 remaining. That was just enough time for Battlefords to come back  as Tatchell scored his 40th goal of the season with 3:15 remaining to narrow the gap at 6-5.

With the goalie pulled, the Northstars managed to get a loose puck in front of Glass and with four seconds left Braden Johnson scored for Battlefords to send the 1,550 fans into a frenzy as the Northstars tied the game and send it to overtime.

Overtime settled nothing sending the game into a shootout. Neufeld scored for the Bruins to give Estevan the edge. But Tatchell scored for Battlefords to tie it up in the shootout. Austin Yano had the best chance for the Bruins to end it as it  appeared he had Creech beat on the stick side with a deke but at the last second Creech reached back and stopped Yano's shot with a stick save.

The shootout lasted until the 9th round as Brody Luhning beat Steven Glass to give the Northstars the lead in the shootout. Tyler Paslawski had a chance to tie it up but was shut down by Creech and the Northstars prevailed 7-6.

Even though the Bruins only walked away with one point last night's game was one of the best efforts from the Bruins this season. Dochylo and Neufeld have each scored four goals during this road trip. Dochylo (now with 10 goals this season) along with Jelinski and Paslawski continue to do a solid job for the Bruins 5 on 5 and have provided the Bruins with solid starts in every period. Tyler Kauk ended up with  4 assists and Steven Glass made 31 saves with 7 more in the shootout.

The Bruins will be looking to end the road trip with 5 points as they face the Klippers for the second time in three nights tonight. You can catch the game on CJ1280 and discoverestevan.com beginning at 7:20.

Bruins Blank Klippers 4-0

On Sunday the CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins gave up four third period goals in a loss to the Battleford Northstars, but tonight the Bruins exploded for four third period goals of their own on their way to a 4-0 win over the Kindersley Klippers.

Steven Glass started in his first game for the Bruins since injuring his knee back on Jan.8 against Humboldt, and didn't look out of place as he made 31 saves to pick up the win. Glass did get some help as the Klippers hit the post twice in the second period.

After 40 minutes of play the Bruins and Klippers were scoreless before the Bruins line of Matthew Dochylo, Josh Jelinski and Tyler Pasklawski took over for the Bruins. Dochylo opened up the scoring as he managed to get on a breakaway and beat Justin McDonald to give the Bruins a 1-0. The Bruins added to their lead when they got a 5-3 powerplay and Calder Neufeld scored his 30th goal of the season to extend the lead to 2-0.

The Bruins would get insurance goals as Josh Jelinski buried a goal top shelf past McDonald to give the Bruins a 3-0 edge and 12 seconds later Dochylo tapped in his second goal of the night to give the Bruins a 4-0 win.

The Bruins will be looking for redemption tomorrow night as they take on the Battlefords Northstars and you can catch the game on CJ1280 and discoverestevan.com beginning at 7:20.

Weekly Winners/Quick Est-Kin Notes

After some delay I finally got some internet at the hotel in Kindersley.  I won't provide much of a writeup for this week's winners since I'm tight for time. But this weeks winners cover the Bruins last three games (Jan.20 8-1 win over Kin. Jan.27 3-2 win over Nipawin Jan.29 5-3 loss to Battlefords)


Player of the Week- Tyler Ross
Defenceman of the Week- Zach MacLellan
Rookie of the Week- Matt Brykaliuk
Unsung Hero - Tyler Poskus

The Bruins will kick off their final roadtrip of the season tonight in Kindersley against the Klippers. The Bruins have gone 2-1 this season against Kindersley and will meet them again on Saturday and next Friday.

The Bruins trail the Melville Millionaires by 5 points for third spot in the Sherwood Conference heading into tonight's game, Melville does have one game in hand on the Bruins. The Bruins will likely have to win 7 if not all of their remaining games in order to pass Melville in the Sherwood Conference. No other games in the SJHL tonight so the Bruins don't have to worry about scoreboard watching.

For the most part the Bruins are healthy heading into this road trip. Steven Glass is good to go after sitting out the last three weeks with a knee injury, he did dress as a backip in the last two games for the Bruins. Eric Baldwin is still battling an ankle injury and is listed to day to day.

Kindersley hasn't won a game in regulation since Nov.26 although they're coming off a big shootout win in Yorkton on Sunday.  Former Bruins goalie Brandon Stone picked up a shootout win against the Bruins back in November but his last game against the Bruins on Jan.20 didn't end well as he was pulled after giving 5 goals in the first period.

You can catch tonight's game on CJ1280 and discoverestevan.com beginning at 7:20

Estevan Hosting 2012 SJHL Hall of Fame Q&A With Bill Chow

It was announced earlier this week that Estevan would be hosting the 2012 SJHL Hall of Fame ceremonies sometime next time season.

I had the chance to speak with SJHL President Bill Chow about the latest event coming to Estevan.