Bruins Looking For Turnaround. Q and A with Connor Milligan

The Estevan Bruins have been busy this week in practice has they continue to make adjustments leading up to Saturday's rematch with the Flin Flon Bombers.

I had a chat with the Captain Connor Milligan on what the team is working on in practice, what they need to change up and Saturday's game with Flin Flon.

Coffee With the Bruins

Coming up on next Friday, October 26 it's your chance to get your question answered by the Bruins Head Coach Keith Cassidy.

The first edition of Coffee With the Bruins at McDonalds will be taking place and Cassidy will be answering the questions from the fans.

Send us your questions to cj1280@goldenwestradio.com and include Bruins Question on the subject line.

And tune in next Friday to hear if your question will be answered.

Two Cent Tuesday

-- The Estevan Bruins have played their first 10 games of the season and there's no doubt everyone with the team isn't happy with the team's record of 2-7-1. Even though the Bruins failed to pick up a win in Humboldt or Flin Flon, they feel they aren't too far away from pulling off a winning streak. Playing a full 60 minutes and capitalizing on scoring opportunities are the two things the Bruins need to improve on before their next game on Saturday.

-- Curtis Martinu has emerged as a solid option for the Bruins between the pipes. Besides the opening night in Melville his GAA is 3.11 and he was outstanding for the Bruins this weekend in Flin Flon. The biggest question mark heading into the season for the Bruins was goaltending and over the last couple of weeks it's been their surest answer.

-- The Bruins are the least penalized team in the SJHL averaging less than 12 minutes a game.

-- This is a big weekend for the Bruins with a tired Flin Flon team on Saturday and then Weyburn on Sunday. Even though the Bombers are the best team in the SJHL, they end a four game/five day trip in Estevan on Saturday and the Bruins need to capitalize on the Bombers tired legs. On Sunday the Bruins need to pick up right where they left when they last faced the Red Wings.

-- I posted a link to the Bruins Broadcasting schedule on the top of the page. Three weeks until I'm back on the radio airwaves calling Bruins action. I'm pretty excited about the Bruins broadcasts this season, we're going to have a few new features that I'm looking forward to.

-- I'll have more details either tomorrow or Thursday on a new promotion the radio station is running with the Bruins.

-- This past week was probably the most exciting of week of the Baseball season. From Giants and Cardinals comebacks to the exciting AL series the best of baseball was on display this week. Right now I would say the World Series favorites have to be the Detroit Tigers.

-- I don't miss the NHL quite yet but that will change if the lockout lasts into November.

-- Quote of the week has to be Corey Chamblin's comment after signing of Evan Fornwald to a deal after he played in the National Touch Football Championships. "He'll fit in with our team because we played like it was touch football in Edmonton." ouch!

-- Is there such a thing as a normal Sunday in the NFL?

-- I'll have more with the Bruins tomorrow on the blog.

Bruins Lose Another Close One in Flin Flon

The Estevan Bruins gave the Flin Flon Bombers all they can handle last night, but the Bombers remain undefeated after a 2-1 win last night.

The first two periods were scorless.  The Bombers out shot the Bruins in each period 15-9 in the first period and 12-9 in the second.

The Bombers Brett Penner scored 4:57 into the period to take the lead 1-0. But the Bruins would tie the game up nine seconds later as Brett Dumaine picked up his first SJHL goal. Nick Weiss and Hudson Morrison picked up assists.

The Bombers Brett Boehm scored with 5 minutes remaining in the period to take the lead and eventually the victory.

Curtis Martinu had a strong game in net for the Bruins making 43 saves. The Bruins were 0-2 on the powerplay.

The Bruins next game is Saturday in a rematch against Flin Flon

Bruins Blanked by Broncos

The CanElson Drilling Estevan weren't able to find the back of the net in their first game of their road trip as they were shut out by the Humboldt Broncos 2-0.

The Broncos jumped ahead 1-0 two minutes in the game when Joey Davies scored for Humboldt. Each team had a chance on the powerplay but were unable to capitalize.

In the second, Jon Lawerence extended the Broncos lead to 2-0 with a goal 1:06 into the period. The Bruins were unable to score on three powerplays in the third period.

In the third period, neither team could score giving the Broncos a 2-0 win. Matt Hrynkiw made 22 saves in the loss while Curtis Martinu made 21 saves of his own.

The Bruins will head up north to Flin Flon tonight to take on Bombers a tream that's still undefeated after they beat the Battleford North Stars last night. Opening faceoff is 6:30 Sask time.

Bonus Locker Talk Video with Tyler Kauk and Austin Yano

This week on Locker Talk my guests were Bruins Defencemen Tyler Kauk and Austin Yano. If you missed yesterday's airing of the show, you can catch it again on Sunday night at 8:00. (Normally it's on Friday night at 5:30 and Saturday at 12:00 but with the United Way telethon, that's not the case this weekend.) 

Here's a bonus segment with Yano and Kauk, as we talk about this weekend's road trip for the Bruins and the SJHL ID camp that was held in Humboldt a couple of weeks ago that both players took part in.

Bruins Made Over $200,000 in 2011-12 Season

Bruins President Jeff Pierson

The CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins experienced a rebirth during the 2011-12 season and it showed in the team's financial report that was released at last night's Annual General Meeting.

During the 2010-11 season the Bruins posted a loss of just over $61,000 but during the 2011-12 season the Bruins financial report showed a profit of $201,075. The increase can be attributed to a number of factors including the Bruins moving to Spectra Place along with the additional revenue provided by season ticket sales and 50/50 sales.

President Jeff Pierson was thrilled to see the final numbers." It's a number that not only myself, but the entire executive is proud of. There's a lot of hard work  that went into it and obviously having Spectra Place to work out of has contributed to that too."

He added while the executive was expecting a profit, they were surprised at the final number. "When we were moving into Spectra Place we had an idea that would get us a better chance to get us into a better financial position but to that level, no we would've never thought of that."

Pierson also pointed out the hard work of several people who have helped with the success of Bruins season off the ice in 2011-12 including Marketing and Operations Manager Becky Tait. Pierson noted that Tait has done a great job of turning a Bruins game into an entertainment spectacle for fans to enjoy. Pierson pointed out the work of the Bruins executive who have spent many hours helping the Bruins in different ways.

There was an election for the executive board at the meeting. President Jeff Pierson, Vice President Chad Saxon and Cory Prokop will now be entering the second year of their term. Randy Bye and Brent Sauter let their names stand for re-election. Brian Skjnosby was nominated to be a member of the board and was elected by  acclamation.

The Bruins also recognized the departure of executive members Trevor Knibbs and Gayle Gustafson. Pierson pointed out the amount of work that Gustafson has provided the Bruins over the years and thanked her for her service.