ESTEVAN - The Estevan Ironside Energy U11 AA Bruins wrapped up their season by finishing third at the South East Minor Hockey League's year-end tournament on March 15 and 16 in Nipawin.
Estevan opened the tournament by playing the Moosomin Ice Badgers and the Melville Millionaires in the round robin.
In their first game, Estevan lost 8-3 to top-ranked Moosomin. All three of Estevan's goals were scored in the second period, with Kolter Snell, Huxton Mosley and Jordan Hewitt scoring for Estevan.
Their next game was a must-win contest to remain in contention for the league title, and Estevan responded with an 8-4 win over Melville. Caelem Desautels scored twice in the first period for the Bruins, and Dexx Tendler had three goals in the game. Hewitt, Dane Johnson and Payton Molstad also scored, with the latter two goals going into an empty net to put the game away.
Estevan finished second in their pool and in the semifinal, faced the North East Wolfpack, the top-ranked team from the other group. The Wolfpack won 11-2. Tendler and Parker Larsen-Stepp scored for Estevan. Madden Kingdon made 35 saves in the loss.
Their final game was the bronze-medal contest versus the Yorkton Terriers. Estevan scored four times in the opening period, with Jase Garagan scoring twice early and Hewitt adding two goals as well. Estevan played well in the second, hitting four posts, but Yorkton scored twice and added two more in the third.
Both teams exchanged rushes and scoring chances, and JJ Nagy came up with some big saves to keep Estevan in the game. Hewitt scored the winner on a Bruins' power play with 3:37 to play in the extra frame.
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