Dochylo Back In Bruins Lineup Tonight

With the Estevan Bruins down 2-0 in their series with Weyburn tonight's game 3 is a must win contest. Estevan will get a big boost with Matthew Dochylo after being out for the last four games with a head injury. The 20 year old will bring a physical presence to the Bruins lineup and will be back on the line with Josh Jelinski and Tyler Paslawski.

I had the chance to speak with Dochylo last night about his return to the Bruins lineup and his thoughts about Game 3 tonight in Weyburn.

Q an A with Hard Knocks Derek Daku

It was big turnout for Hard Knocks 21 on Saturday at Spectra Place, and the main event featured Derek Daku knocking out Dusty Shingoose in 12 seconds. I had the chance to speak with Daku this morning about his victory on Saturday night. I'll also run this interview during tomorrow's Game 3 between the Bruins and Weyburn.

Bittman Tries Out for National U-19 Football Team

The World Under 19 Football Championships will be held in Austin Texas in July. Estevan's Michael Bittman received a tryout invite and took part in the tryout yesterday featuring players from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Bittman is also preparing for his second season with the Regina Thunder this year, I had the chance to speak with Bittman earlier today about the camp and his upcoming season with the Thunder.

Bruins Trail Wings 2-0 After 3-0 Loss

The CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins didn't have the bounces go their way as they were defeated by the Weyburn Red Wings 3-0 and now trail 2-0 in their Sherwood Conference Semi-Finals.

The Bruins had plenty of jump out of the gates early on in the first period as they played with plenty of physicality, players like Tyler Kauk, Josh Jelinski, and others were finishing their in an attempts to set a tone early in the contest.

The first goal was halfway through the first period, the puck was on the mesh in behind Steven Glass and Keegan Bruce managed to knock the puck off and put the puck in behind of Glass to make it a 1-0 game after the first period.  The Bruins almost tied the game up as Austin Yano hit the post with one second left in the period.

In the second period, the Bruins made one mistake as Jesse Ross snuck in behind the play and caught a breakaway pass and beat Glass to extend the Red Wings lead 2-0.  Late in the period with the Bruins looking for a spark, Calder Neufeld dropped the mitts against Wilkinson and on his first punch Neufeld knocked Wilkinson's visor off, Neufeld managed to win the fight in hopes of sparking of a late rally by the Riders.

In the third period, the Bruins had 14 shots on net but couldn't get one past the Red Wings Mitch Kilgore. Ryan Whitell added an empty netter for the Red Wings as they went on to win 3-0 over the Bruins.

The series will now shift to Weyburn for Game 3 tomorrow night and you can catch the game on CJ1280 and discoverestevan.com beginning at 7:15.  

Bruins Look to Even With Series With Red Wings

The Estevan Bruins will be looking to strike back in their series with the Weyburn Red Wings tonight at Spectra Place in Game 2 of their best of 7 series.

The Bruins played a solid game on Friday night never trailing during the regulation but with 26 seconds left in the third period, the Red Wings Carter Struhers buried a shot past Steven Glass to tie the game up, and then in overtime it was Miguel Pereria scored for the Red Wings to give the Wings the 1-0 series lead.

The Bruins will be looking for secondary scoring to help out the Bruins top line of Dylan Smith- Calder Neufeld- and Cole Olson. While the other lines generated plenty of opportunities none of them were able to find the back of the net. When guys like Matt Brykaliuk and Tanner Froese score for the Bruins it seems like they find a way to win.

The Bruins defensively did a great job of shutting down the Red Wings top line of Jesse Ross, Keegan Bruce and Coltyn Sanderson with the trio unable to score in game one. The Bruins will need to limit the line again tonight if they want to draw even. Tonight we can expect the line of Josh Jelinski- Tyler Paslawski and Derek Whitehill (if Matthew Dochylo doesn't play) to shut down that line, also expect Dominic Perrault and Tyler Kauk matched up against that line.

You can catch tonight's game on CJ1280 and discoverestevan.com beginning at 5:45 with the opening faceoff at 6:00. Game 3 will be in Weyburn on Tuesday and we'll have coverage beginning at 7:15.

Hard Knocks Returns to Estevan. Q and A with ex UFC fighter Jesse Bongfeldt

             Hard Knocks Marketing&Promotions Cord Crowthers and Jesse Bongfeldt


It's going to be a great night of fights at Hard Knocks 21 at Spectra Place, there's talk that tonight could be the biggest amateur MMA card in Canada.

Plenty of local fighters will be on display tonight as the main event will feature Derek Daku squaring off with Dusty Shingoose in a heavyweight bout.

In the co-main event Wade Baldwin will square off with Stephen Arens in another heavyweight tilt. Felix Jimenez will tangle with Devon Smith in a catchweight bout.

Dennis Papineau from Estevan will meet Ryan Torrence  in  a bantam weight bout, Craig Gaudry will compete in a light heavyweight with Mitchell Balaberda of Saskatoon. And in another bout Ron Carriere of Estevan will face Keith Katona of Winnipeg in a Bantamweight bout.

There's expected to be about 15 to 17 fights on the card tonight with fighters from all across Canada.



Ex UFC fighter Jesse Bongfeldt is in town as help trains a few of the fighers out of Ontario and he stopped by the radio station last night and I had a chance to speak with him.








Fights begin at 7:00

Bruins Lose in OT 3-2

The Estevan Bruins were moments away from taking game one on the road in Weyburn instead a late comeback from the Red Wings including the overtime winner from Miguel Pereria gave the Red Wings a 1-0 series lead.

The Bruins opened up the scoring in the first period as Dylan Smith took a pass in the slot and got it past Mitch Kilgore which gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead. The Red Wings came back to tie it up late in the first period as Ryan Whitell took advantage of a bad bounce of a Bruins stick and scored into an open net to tie the game after the first period.

In the second period, the goaltenders took control of the game as Steven Glass and Mitch Kilgore kept each in check in the second period and it was 1-1 after the second period.

In the third period, the Bruins regained the lead as Calder Neufeld scored for the Bruins to give them a 2-1 lead. The Bruins followed up that goal with plenty of chances but were unable to sneak an insurance goal past Kilgore.

The Red Wings had a chance to tie the game up on a penalty shot with Keegan Bruce, but Bruce nailed his shot off the post.

With 26 seconds left in the third, the Red Wings pulled their goalie and Carter Struthers was able to bury one past Steven Glass top shelf sending the game into overtime.

In the extra frame, 47 seconds in, the Bruins coughed up the puck deep inside of their zone and Miguel Pereria snuck one past Glass as the Red Wings beat the Bruins 3-2.

Steven Glass had another strong game with 40 saves but the Bruins fall behind 1-0 in the series.



A lot of positives from the Bruins side, but when it comes to the postseason it's always tough to lose a game like last night since the Bruins played a solid road game and now will walk away empty handed. This series is not going to be a short one between the two teams and will likely go at least 6 or 7 games.

Game 2 is tomorrow night and you can catch it on CJ1280 beginning at 5:45. 

Bruins-Red Wings Preview. The Highway 39 Rivalry is Back

After 14 years of waiting, the Estevan Bruins will be meeting their Highway 39 rivals the Weyburn Red Wings in the postseason. Heading into tonight's game the Bruins will get Eric Baldwin back into the lineup, while Matthew Dochylo is still sidelined with a neck injury. The Bruins and Red Wings are well acquainted with each other as they have faced each other 8 times already this season, Weyburn won the season series 5-3. Here's a quick look on the two teams and how they matchup against each other.

Goalies

Steven Glass maybe an 18 year old rookie but he has been playing like a seasoned veteran for the Bruins since returning from his knee injury. Glass was the best player in the Survivor Series with a 2.58 GAA and a 927 Save PCT. The future is very bright for Glass, but he's turning the future into the present with his strong play this post season.

Mitch Kligore is among the best goalies in the SJHL, he lead the league in wins and had a 906 Save PCT with a 2.90 GAA. Kilgore is a workhorse of a goalie and has plenty of experience of being with the Red Wings last season and watching from the sidelines a couple of years ago.

Defencemen

The Bruins blue line has grown a lot since the opening weekend in September, and they will need to turn in a big series against the Red Wings if they would like to advance. At times this postseason Tyler Kauk and Dominic Perrault have been paired together and the pairing gives the Bruins two d-men who are nasty inside of their zone and can rush the puck from the own end into the other teams zone. I think Kauk and Perrault will be seeing a lot of the Ross-Bruce-Sanderson this series. Connor Milligan and Zach MacLellan have been solid additions to the Bruins sqaud and have added a veteran presence on a young blueline and will probably see some minutes against the Wings top lines. Austin Yano is one of the best offensive d-men in the SJHL and Tyler Poskus has quietly put together a solid season for the Bruins and could possibly be the Bruins biggest surprise this season.

There's plenty of depth on the blueline for the Red Wings featuring Ryan Whitell who will provide offensive punch from the point. Carter Struthers, Tyler Borstmayer, Braden Kmita and Jens Johnson will be solid at both ends of the ice. Weyburn loves to utilize the long pass from the own end to the other team's blue line and it all starts with their d-men.


Forwards

There's plenty of depth on both teams up front. For the Bruins they will be relying on the Josh Jelinski- Tyler Paslawski- Derek Whitehill line at both ends of the ice. Dochylo would be skating with this line if he was healthy but Whitehill fits right in as a replacement. This line will likely be matched up with the Red Wings top line if the Bruins have their way. The Olson-Neufeld-Smith line will be counted on to provide plenty of offense this series both at even strength and on the powerplay. It seems like when the Bruins get goals from Matt Brykaliuk, Tanner Froese, Michael Hengen and Ben Johnstone they always win, and while Eric Baldwin likely won't be a factor on the scoresheet, he's a team player who's going to bring a lot of energy to the Bruins.

The Red Wings are lead by their top line of Jesse Ross- Keegan Bruce and Coltyn Sanderson. Ross lead the league in points and was named the player of the year this week. If the Bruins want to beat the Red Wings in the series they will need to limit the scoring from Weyburn's line. The Red Wings depth up front has been a surprise this season with guys like Miguel Pereria, Jack Kennelly and acquisitions of Jordan Hoffman and former Bruin prospect Kyle Oleniuk all can put the puck in the net at a steady pace.

Full coverage of the series begins tonight on CJ1280 and discoverestevan.com beginning at 7:15 from the CPP in Weyburn.

Survivor Series Recap. The Bruins Playoff Dream Begins

One more sleep until the Highway 39 rivalry returns the playoffs as the Estevan Bruins take on the Weyburn Red Wings. A preview is coming up tomorrow, but before we look ahead to the Sherwood Conference Semi-Finals I thought I would take one more look at the exciting Survivor Series between the Bruins and Notre Dame Hounds.

I chose some music from the greatest inspirational sports movie that there is Rocky, I hope you enjoy it.

Q and A with Derek Daku

Hard Knocks Fighting Championship returns to Estevan on Saturday with Hard Knocks 21, the second card of MMA. Derek Daku was the local star in the first card where he received a standing ovation on the way to the ring and proceeded to knock out Justin Schmit in the first round. I had a chance to talk to him today about his main event fight with Dusty Shingoose on Saturday.