The Estevan Apex Bruins played a lot of hockey on the weekend and came out of it with four points.
The midget AA team faced a trio of sub-.500 teams on the road, beginning with a 7-4 loss to the Notre Dame bantam Hounds on Friday.
They defeated the Melville Millionaires 8-3 on Saturday and wrapped up the trip with a 10-6 victory over the Yorkton Terriers on Sunday.
A poor third period in Wilcox helped deny the Bruins a perfect weekend, as the Hounds scored three unanswered goals to pull out the win.
"We didn't help ourselves, that's for sure. I guess the big ice kinda got to us. They capitalized on a couple of chances and we didn't," said Bruins head coach Dalton Giblett. "We were playing a small game on a big ice surface and it didn't work out for us in the third period."
All three Notre Dame goals in the period came on power plays, with Carson MacKinnon, Josh Brook and Jeremy McKenna finding the back of the net.
The teams traded goals throughout the first 40 minutes, beginning with markers from Notre Dame's Brett Davis and Estevan's Kyle Salaway in the first period.
Kaelan Holt put the Bruins on top on a power play early in the third, only for London Murray to tie it for the Hounds three minutes later.
The Bruins took a 3-2 lead later in the period on a Dylan Lay goal, but the Hounds wrested the lead from their grasp on goals by Murray and Jake Kustra coming 24 seconds apart.
Holt's second power play marker of the period evened it up late in the period.
Landon Audet made 26 saves for the Bruins, who were outshot 33-28.
The next day in Melville, the Bruins got off to a slow start before putting the gas pedal to the floor and firing seven unanswered goals.
The club trailed 2-1 after 20 minutes, as Melville got goals from Brooks Fleury and Darcy Kayseas, while Bailey Lonsberry replied for Estevan.
Brett Harasymuk gave the Millionaires a 3-1 lead early in the second. Then the Bruins' league-leading offence showed up.
Goals by Kale Little and Holt tied the game entering the third period. Most of the carnage in the final frame came in a five-minute span where the Bruins scored four times.
Salaway (2), Lay, Little and Preston Hutt had the third-period goals.
The shots were 29-26 for Melville, as Bruins starter Tanner Tytlandsvik made 26 stops.
In Yorkton, the Bruins scored the first three goals before allowing three more in the first period. However, they pulled away from the Terriers in the final 40 minutes.
"We jumped out to a 3-0 lead and you could see, one more goal and we were going to coast, and the next thing you knew it was 3-3," Giblett said.
Salaway, Lay and Tyler Hengen had two goals apiece for Estevan, with Hutt, Holt and Matt Bill adding singles.
Justin Poirier led the Terriers with a pair. Cody Dubas, Josh Rohatynsky, Hunter Arnold and Brayden Miller also scored for the home side.
While the three games represented a show of force for the Bruins, scoring 22 goals, Giblett noted they have to work on keeping the puck out of their net, as they allowed 16.
"Offensively, we put up some big numbers this weekend. Defensively, we also put up some big numbers."
Still, the team has scored 137 goals this year, a mark that easily leads the league. The Bruins' offence has been particularly hot lately, thanks in large part to the line of Holt, Salaway and Lay, which was put together in December.
"The chemistry of that big line just took off. Other than our two provincial games, where they struggled, those guys have really carried us. It's contagious because everybody else starts making big plays it really helps when guys are seeing that big line put up points like that."
The Bruins are off this weekend but will visit the Notre Dame Argos next Tuesday.
