After spending the last week winning three of their four pre-season games and trimming down the roster, the Estevan Bruins will begin the 2013-14 regular season tomorrow night as they visit the Melville Millionaires.
Their home opener is the next night against the Mils. They also host the Melfort Mustangs on Tuesday, with both games starting at 7:30 p.m.
The Bruins closed out the pre-season on Sunday, scoring three times in the third period to defeat the Weyburn Red Wings 5-3 at Spectra Place.
"We started out slow. I thought we let Weyburn play their game off and on for the first half of the night. I thought we came on strong late in the second and really thought our boys found our legs after a fight between Ryan Cooper and R.T. Rice," said Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood, who noted that Rice, recently added to the roster after being cut by the BCHL's Coquitlam Express, appeared to spark the team.
Rice isn't the only recent newcomer to the Bruins. The team also acquired rookie defenceman Kyle Bird from the Melville Millionaires last week.
Bird, 18, is listed at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds. The Regina native posted three goals and 23 points with the Tisdale Trojans in midget AAA last year.
"We knew exactly what we were getting. He's a guy that will play with us for two years, if not three. He'll be a top six guy throughout and could probably grow into a top two guy. He's good at everything, not great at anything, but he could develop into being great at everything," Lewgood said of the new acquisition.
As for this year, Lewgood said Bird will likely play on the second or third pairing, filling a void on the left side of the ice.
The Bruins defeated the Red Wings 7-2 in Weyburn on Friday, highlighted by a four-point night for Lynnden Pastachak, including an assist.
They also topped the NAHL's Minot Minotauros 5-3 on Wednesday and lost 8-6 to the Notre Dame Hounds in the annual rookie game on Sept. 9.
"It was outstanding," Lewgood said of Pastachak's performance on Friday. "To me, he brings an element you can't teach. He plays the game in a different light and he takes chances other guys wouldn't even realize were there."
Pastachak was injured on Sunday and is expected to miss two weeks of action, while left winger Wyatt Garagan is day-to-day with a shoulder injury.
Heading into Thursday's opener, Lewgood said he's satisfied with his core but still wants to add depth on the back end.
"We've got a lot of room to grow. We've got a good base though. I like our players, I like our work ethic. Personnel-wise, we've got some work to do but I'm really happy with the core group of guys here.
"We like our depth up front. We've got guys playing on what looks like a fourth line that could play on your second line. On the back end, we're a little more raw. We have seven or eight guys that can play, but we don't have any of those top level, high-end defencemen, especially offensively," he continued.
"We are going to probably make some personnel moves, maybe to shore up our back end. The depth is OK back there, but we can improve offensively. Up front, we don't really feel like we need to add. We couldn't be happier (with what we've got)."
