The Estevan Apex Bruins were one win away from capturing their third straight Kelly Dmyterko Memorial Tournament in Prince Albert on Sunday.
But with four players missing, the fatigued midget AA squad lost the final 9-2 to the Winnipeg Sharks, going home with second place.
The Bruins went 3-0 in the round-robin and won a tough semifinal match-up to advance to the final.
In their first game, Estevan got a late goal from Kyle Salaway to edge the Calgary Royals 4-3 in a rematch of last year's tournament final.
Marc Shaw scored first for the Bruins 14 minutes into the first period, but Bryan Huck tied it for the Royals only 91 seconds later. The teams were even 1-1 after the first.
Calgary took the lead 38 seconds into the middle frame on a goal by Jay Manning, and extended that edge to 3-1 less than three minutes later courtesy of Keenan Ogle.
The Bruins quickly bounced back though, with Mason Benning scoring at the 5:30 mark and Ryley Giblett knotting the score again two minutes later.
Salaway scored the game-winner with 4:14 left in the third period.
The Bruins faced the Midwest Red Wings, based out of Turtleford, in their second game. Estevan scored three goals in the second period and four in the third, overcoming an early deficit to win 7-2.
Colton Stanley and Keenan MacNab staked Midwest to a 2-0 lead in the first period with goals coming seven minutes apart.
In the second period, however, the Bruins erased that lead with three goals in a span of 2:06.
Tanner Jeannot got them on the board at 8:21, Kaelan Holt tied the game 80 seconds after that and Tyson Price gave the Bruins the lead at 10:27.
The Bruins kept coming in the third period, with another three goals in a stretch of 1:44.
The first came from Salaway at the 2:16 mark. Holt scored 20 seconds later to make it 5-2, and 84 seconds after that, Dylan Lay added more damage.
Salaway notched his second of the game at the 14:53 mark to close out the scoring.
The Bruins won their third round-robin 6-3. The scoring summary from that game was not available at press time.
In the semis, the Bruins came up against a tough Winnipeg Hawks squad and earned a narrow 3-2 victory.
The Hawks, who play in the Winnipeg midget AAA league, opened the scoring at the 2:10 mark on a goal by Garrett Armour.
Shaw tied it for Estevan, sneaking a goal in with only half a second left in the period.
Price scored twice in the second period to put the Bruins ahead 3-1, lighting the lamp at the 4:25 mark and again 10 minutes later.
Ethan Williams scored with nine minutes left in the third to get the Hawks within a goal, but that was the way the game would end.
In the final on Sunday, the Sharks scored six unanswered goals in the second and third periods to take home the title.
Price scored for the Bruins in the first period and Shaw tallied in the second.
Nik Kowalski (2), Tristan Ducharme, Dexter Kuczek, Dallas Miller, Matt Allen, Brady Valiquette, Thomas Petrick and Alec Masse scored for Winnipeg.
The Bruins' two goalies, Levi Eiteneier and Tanner Tytlandsvik, alternated starts throughout the weekend, with Tytlandsvik getting the start in the semifinal and Eiteneier playing in the final.
The Bruins are back in regular season action this weekend. They visit the Notre Dame Hounds on Friday and host the Regina Flames on Saturday. Game time is 4:30 p.m. at Spectra Place.
