Stubel leads Coalers to Championship

I have to admit, I thought I was dreaming last night when I woke up and saw that Lucas Stubel (my color guy for the Bruins whenever he's around) scored a hat trick in leading the Bienfait Coalers to the Big 6 title with a 5-2 win in Midale.

Stubel played with the Bruins from 2008-2011 before moving on to Senior Hockey and playing with the Coalers with his brother Chris, another ex-Bruin. The team features plenty of ex Bruins, the only other one who played during my time with the Bruins is former Captain Kyle Garagan.

The Coalers won the league title and will now look to turn the tide in their provincial final against Shellbrooke. The Coalers are down 1-0 in the series but if the Coalers win on Saturday then Game 3 will be next Saturday at Spectra Place.

So congrats to the Stubels and the rest of the Coalers on capturing the team's second straight Big 6 title.

Chris and Lucas Stubel with the Big 6 trophy. Photo courtesty Lucas Stubel

LaBatte to Speak at Estevan Football Dinner

One of the newest member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders is the newest member of the head table for the upcoming Football fundraiser dinner in Estevan as Brendon LaBatte has been confirmed as a guest speaker for the dinner on April 14. LaBatte joins Roughrider legend Don Narcisse and TSN's Jay Onrait as guest speakers for the dinner.

Estevan Minor Football President Steve McLellan says with Narcisse and Onrait already speaking at the dinner, the organizing committee was hoping to get a current Roughrider player and LaBatte was their first choice and they were thrilled the Roughriders were able to meet their request.

LaBatte might be the first person from Weyburn to receive an ovation from Estevan, but McLellan notes that LaBatte football background is very similar to the local football players as LaBatte played his minor football in Regina Minor Football before playing high school football in Weyburn before moving on to the University of Regina Rams.

McLellan is hoping that the Estevan players are inspired by LaBatte's path to becoming a Roughrider and is hoping someday it will be an Estevan player who will be returning to the Energy City who will be speaking at the football fundraiser as a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The proceeds from this year's dinner will go to both Estevan Minor Football and the ECS Elecs Football program and McLellan says this will be the second straight year that the proceeds of the dinner will be going towards both programs and feels it great to have a solid working relationship with the local high school football program.

Final Thank You

It's hard to believe the 2011-12 season has come to an end for Estevan Bruins as it seems like it was yesterday when the Bruins opened up Spectra Place with a big win over the Melville Millionaires. There was a lot of highs and lows that go with the hockey season but looking back at this year once again I can say that it's been a lot of fun.

I just want to take this time to say thank you to the the Estevan Bruins organization and CJ1280 Radio to give me a chance to call the Bruins games for another season.

Also have to thank the Bruins staff for providing every resource I've needed throughout the season and making me like I'm apart of the team. Throughout the season the club invited me to the parent's night and Xmas party which means a lot to me.

The Coaching and Personnel staff  of the Bruins, Keith Cassidy, Cole Zahn, Ted Ryplanski and Rick Oakes thanks guys are all the information and insight to the Bruins squad and providing me the time whenever I need it.

Thanks to the parents for their kind words throughout the season, I really enjoy people walking to me and telling me how much they enjoy listening to the Bruins games that always means a lot.

A big thank you to Gerry Aspen, thanks for driving the bus, thanks for being a great roommate when I'm on the road with the Bruins and thanks for being the most valuable person inside of the Bruins organization. Gerry spent so much time in the offseason building the Bruins dressing room and has left a great legacy with the Bruins.As well Gerry spends countless hours sharpening skates, laundry and so much more for the Bruins.

But the biggest thank you from me has to go to the players for the Estevan Bruins. In my four years with the Bruins I've never had one issue with a player for the Bruins organization.  Anytime I needed an interview for the radio, or I need some guys to do Locker Talk with me the players help me out and I'm grateful for that. I'm proud of the fact that I've become great friends with a lot of the guys and I will enjoy to maintain these friendships for the rest of my life. There's a lot of great kids wearing the Bruins jerseys  right now and hopefully Estevan will continue to support these guys for years to come.

Thanks to Dominic Perrault, Derek Whitehill and Matthew Dochylo for everything this season. At some point this summer I'm looking forward to posting the announcement of these three players moving on to the University ranks on the blog. Like I said before, the Bruins are losing three solid players and they're losing three great guys.

Many people have asked what's next for me. Well, this weekend I'm going home to Saskatoon-Humboldt. The last two and a half months have been all about the Bruins so I'm looking to spending a little time with family and friends. I might check out some of the RBC Cup this spring since it's being held just a short walk from my parents house.

I plan on spending some holidays up in Northern Saskatchewan, also Roughrider season isn't far away and I'll probably be making a trip out to Calgary to check out the Riders and UFC in July. I'll be working at the radio station covering news and sports and we're also launching a new FM station later this year in Estevan.

Through the summer there obviously will be less Bruins content on this blog but whenever something comes up I'll be posting it on here. There will also be stuff on here about other sports in Estevan and just some thoughts of mine about other sporting news around the world.

I'm looking forward to recharging the batteries and getting ready for next season. I've already rehashed the season a few times already I'm looking forward to relaxing for a few months and enjoying the summer.

Thanks again everyone for tuning in and enjoy the weather.

Pics and Audio From Bruins Awards Dinner

Here are some pictures from last night's Awards Banquet and some interviews with Dominic Perrault, Derek Whitehill, Matthew Dochylo and Josh Jelinski.

Derek Whitehill winning the Training Staff Heart Award with Richard Winton and Gerry Aspen

Dylan Smith wins Top Scorer

Tyler Kauk wins Top D-Man

Tyler Poskus Named Most Improved

Connor Milligan Named Most Underrated

Taylor Reich Wins Most Community Involved

Cole Olson and Josh Jelinski winning MVP

Derek Whitehill interview


Josh Jelinski


Dominic Perrault


Matthew Dochylo

Bruins Award Winners

I'll have more of a recap tomorrow along with interviews with the three graduating players and Captain Josh Jelinski, but here's the Bruins Awards Winners and a few pictures from tonight.

1. Spectra Financial Rookie of the Year Award
Steven Glass and Taylor Reich

2. A&S Oilfield Operating Defenseman of the Year
Tyler Kauk

3. Rocket Sales & Rental Most Popular Player
Matthew Dochylo

4. Econo Furniture and Sound Mr. Hustle Award
Matthew Dochylo Josh Jelinski

5. Estevan Canadian Tire Award
Dylan Smith

6.CJ1280 Radio Most Sportsmanlike Player of the Award
Cole Olson

7. Abe Berday Memorial Scholastic Award
Derek Whitehill

8. Enbridge Pipelines Most Improved Player
Tyler Poskus

9. JL's Bike and Skate Most Underrated Player
Connor Milligan

10. T&T Repair Rocky Award
Josh Jelinski

11. Royal Bank Community Involvement Award
Taylor Reich

12. Bill Shinske Ethics Award
Josh Jelinski

13. Tower Cafe MVP
Cole Olson and Josh Jelinski

14. Estevan Bruins Training Staff Heart Award
Derek Whitehill

15. Power Dodge Volunteer Appreciation Award
Chad Saxon

16. Estevan Bruins Iron Man Award
Cole Olson and Tyler Kauk

17. Estevan Bruins Playoff MVP
Steven Glass

Bruins Set To Say Good-bye to Three Special Players

It's always bittersweet to end off a hockey season with the Bruins. On one hand it's sad to see the players season come to an end on the ice, but on the other hand it's always nice to celebrate the season that was with the team. I'm sure I'll say it again over the next few days but I can't thank the players enough for everything they did for me this season.

A more season recap will come after the awards banquet on Sunday night but for now I just wanted to talk about the three graduating players with the Bruins Derek Whitehill, Dominic Perrault and Matthew Dochylo. It was a no brainer for me to give the three stars of the game to these players for all of their work they did this season.

Whitey's providing a Slap Shot moment, photo courtesy Jennifer Durr

Derek Whitehill was a late acquisition for the Bruins this summer, Whitehill previously played for Bruins Head Coach Keith Cassidy in the MJHL and he was expected to bring a veteran presence to the team. He certainly did that this season as on the ice he was usually on a line with a pair of rookies, Whitehill contributed the odd goal for the Bruins but he'll remembered for being a  speedy hardworking player and gave everything he had on the ice and would never take a shift.

Whitehill wasn't only a hardworking person on the ice but off the ice as well. I would run into Whitehill a lot at the Library in Estevan as he spent a significant studying for school. Me and Whitey had some great chats about some school stuff like psychology. (Surprisingly I remember stuff from my first year in university)

I remembered the first time I met Whitehill, back at training camp he came up and introduced himself to me and he predicted we would get along great and I'm happy to say that was true and it was a pleasure to get to know Derek this season.

Right after Perrault scored the OT winner, once again I borrowed from Dom's facebook

Dominic Perrault spent the last two years with the Bruins and provided some classic moments with the Bruins. Of course for years to come he'll be remembered for his OT winner last year against Melville in the Survivor Series. That goal was the last game winning goal for the Bruins inside of the Civic Auditorium, and for me it will probably be my favourite call I've ever called. For anybody who may have missed the goal here it is once again.




There was a lot of expectations for Perrault this season and much like last year Perrault really came into his own at the end of the season. Perrault once again provided the Bruins with plenty of offence and physical play at the end of the season. He scored another timely goal for the Bruins during the postseason when he scored the tying goal against Notre Dame in Game 3 of the series.

Off the ice, Perrault was a great guy as well. Like I discussed in the post game show on Wednesday, this summer I needed to find somewhere to park my car for a week in Regina when I was gone to Vancouver. I mentioned to Perrault about my trip and my dilemma and immediately said that I would be able to leave my car at his parents house. I can't thank Dom and his parents for that and by the way Dom's parent are two of the nicest people I've met and it's been a pleasure meeting with them over these last two years. It's been great getting to know Dom for these last two years and there's no doubt he has a bright hockey future somewhere in the University ranks.

Anytime you mention Matthew Dochylo's name to anyone the first thing  that person will do is smile, it's really hard for me to remember a time when I've ran into Dochylo over the past couple of years and I didn't see him smile right away.

On the ice Dochylo was one of the hardest working players I've ever seen, I think the only person who might work harder than Dochylo is Josh Jelinski. The two have played together a lot over the past two seasons and formed great chemistry and it's sad to think they will never play together again. Dochylo was a strong player along the boards which made it very difficult to knock him off the puck. He's strong as moose or caribou which is why I dubbed him the "Christopher Lake Caribou" a nickname that he loved. Dochylo's best hockey with the Bruins came at the end of the season with Jelinski and Tyler Paslawski. Dochylo wasn't a top scorer for the most part in his junior career but in the final two months of the season Dochylo and his linemates were big contributors at both ends of the ice for the Bruins.  Unfortunately Dochylo was playing his final game with a very heavy heart with a family issue, but it was so great to see him score the final goal of the season for the Bruins and he scored in his final game of Junior Hockey.

Like I said before off the ice, I, like everyone else would run into Dochylo off the ice and he would always be in high spirits. There's no doubt he's one of the nicest guys I have ever met. He always had a positive mind set. His parents are also two of the nicest people I've ever met and are also two of my biggest fans. They're pretty much my adoptive parents supplying me with a great birthday cake and a beautiful pen for my birthday. (still haven't used the pen, it's just too nice) It's been great meeting them for the last two years and it will be sad not seeing them at the rink next season.
 
Dochylo like Whitehill and Perrault has a bright hockey future waiting for them next season somewhere in the University ranks.  After the game on Wednesday I had a great chat with Dochylo for good 20 minutes about hockey, life and so much more.  Here's a 5 minute interview I did with him.



The Bruins officially wrap up the season with the awards banquet on Sunday, cocktails at 5:00 with the dinner at 6:00, hopefully I'll see you there and I'm looking forward to speaking with you all once again.

Bruins Season Ends Part 1

This is just a quick recap of last night's game. I'll have more thoughts later on today about the Bruins season coming to an end.

The CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins left everything on the ice last night but in the end couldn't find enough offence to beat Weyburn as the Red Wings won 3-1.

The Red Wings opened up the scoring in the first period when Jack Kennelly scored on a wrap around past Tyler Ross to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead early in the contest. The Bruins would come back with plenty of chances in the period but were unable to beat the Red Wings Mitch Kilgore. With one minute remaining, Jesse Ross was alone in the slot and he buried a shot past Tyler Ross to make the scored 2-0 after the first period.

The Bruins would begin to battle back in the second period as Matthew Dochylo would stuff in a loose puck past Kligore cutting the lead down to 2-1. The Bruins continue going after the second goal in the second period, but Kilgore would shut the door on the Bruins. The Bruins almost tied it up in the period when Derek Whitehill hit the post in the period. After 40 minutes the score remained 2-1 in favor of the Red Wings. The Bruins lead the shot clock 29-14.

In the third period the Bruins continue to pour on the offensive pressure with several chances going wide of the net. The Bruins pulled their netminder with just a minute remaining but were unable to score, and then Coltyn Sanderson took the puck and scored in the net.

The Bruins season comes to end, and the careers of Derek Whitehill, Dominic Perrault and Matthew Dochylo.

Coaching Change for ECS Football Team

It was big news for the ECS Football team as Marco Ricci announced that he's stepping down as Head Coach of the Elecs as he's moving to White City to open up a new Boston Pizza. Ricci will still be running the Boston Pizza in Estevan but the new restaurant requires more of his attention.

Mark Schott takes over as Head Coach after spending a year on staff as an offensive back coach with the Elecs. I spoke to both Ricci and Schott about the change.

Ricci


Schott

Bruins Fall 7-3 in Weyburn

It was a very difficult night for the CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins as they were defeated by the Weyburn Red Wings 7-3 and now trail their best of seven series 3-0.

The Bruins came out with plenty of fire in the first period, earning an early powerplay opportunity. Cole Olson scored for the Bruins 1:41 into the first period giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead. The Bruins continued to put pressure on the Red Wings after looking for a two goal cushion but were unable to get one past the Red Wings Mitch Kilgore.

With just over 5 minutes left in the first period, Steven Glass got trapped in behind of his net, which allowed a pass to Miguel Pereria in front and he scored to tie the game at 1-1. Just over two minutes later, Coltyn Sanderson outworked Tyler Kauk for a loose puck and got a shot past Steven Glass to make it 2-1. After the game Bruins Head Coach Keith Cassidy pointed out those two goals as the turning point of the game, he said those two mistakes were mental mistakes and in the end it came back to haunt the Bruins.

In the second, the Bruins had a few opportunities to tie the game including Taylor Reich getting robbed on a 2 on 1 situation. Reich was playing in his first game last night after sitting out the last month with a shoulder injury and was limited to the penalty kill last night.

Weyburn would extend their lead in the second period when Jens Johnson's point shot got past a screened Steven Glass and Weyburn was up 3-1. Ryan Whitell added another goal in the second period to make it 4-1.

The Bruins switched goalies in the third period as Tyler Ross got his first taste of the postseason. In the first 30 seconds of the period, Jesse Ross snuck out from behind of the net and buried a shot past Tyler Ross to make it 5-1.

The Bruins responded about 30 seconds later as Matthew Dochylo gave a pass a to Tyler Paslawski who scored and it was 5-2. But moments later Coltyn Sanderson for Weyburn to extend their lead to 6-2. After Weyburn scored another late one, Cole Olson scored his second goal of the game to end it at 7-3.

The Bruins had plenty of offensive opportunities all night, but were denied by Kilgore or by the Red Wing defenders who did a good job of getting in front of the shooting lanes of the Bruins. Kilgore ended up with 34 saves in the win for the Red Wings.

The Bruins season is on the line tonight in Game 4 and you can catch it on CJ1280 and discoverestevan.com beginning at 7:15.