Matt Brykaliuk scored the winning goal early in the third period and Tyler Ross made 33 saves to lead the Estevan Bruins to a 4-2 win over the Flin Flon Bombers on Saturday at Spectra Place.
It was a massive win for the Bruins, who snapped a four-game losing skid, giving Ross his first SJHL win in the process.
Tanner Froese, Josh Jelinski and Cole Olson (into an empty net) also scored for the Bruins, while Jesse Mysiorek and Landon Hiebert countered for the Bombers.
Froese opened the scoring less than three minutes in, beating Devin Buffalo with a shot right off the draw.
Mysiorek would even it up at 12:04 on a power play deflection, but Jelinski (who had been in the box) responded with his eighth of the year just 12 seconds later and the Bruins took the 2-1 lead to the dressing room.
Hiebert tied the game 66 seconds into the middle frame with a beauty, taking a feed from Riley Storzuk, then going to his backhand and tucking it past Ross, just when it looked like he'd run out of room.
That score would hold until the 1:42 mark in the third, when Calder Neufeld dropped a pass for Brykaliuk in the right circle on a power play. Brykaliuk then ripped a shot past Buffalo to make it 3-2.
The Bruins spent the rest of the period playing soundly in their own end and got some huge saves from Ross to protect the lead. It was a great bounce-back effort from him after a tough outing on Friday.
Olson hit an empty net with 66 seconds left to ice the win.
The Bruins were missing Dylan Smith and Dom Perrault tonight. Smith tweaked his knee in practice and should be back in tomorrow. Perrault was a healthy scratch. The Bruins went with 11 forwards, moving Eric Baldwin back to the point and sliding Michael Hengen onto the top line with Neufeld and Olson.
Post-game interviews with Tyler Ross and Keith Cassidy:
Tyler Ross Jan. 14 by lewis94
Keith Cassidy Jan. 14 by lewis94
