They weren't able to avoid the survivor series and they have a lot of travel time ahead of them as a result.
The CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins will face an unfamiliar playoff opponent in the Flin Flon Bombers when their best-of-five SJHL playoff series begins Friday in Estevan.
After splitting a home-and-home series with the Weyburn Red Wings on Friday and Saturday to close the regular season, the Bruins finished seventh in the league, four points behind the Humboldt Broncos, while the Bombers finished 10th.
The Bruins enacted a narrow 1-0 victory over the Wings on Friday at Affinity Place. They lost 3-2 the next night in Weyburn. Humboldt's overtime loss Saturday night knocked the Bruins out of contention for sixth place and a bye past the survivor series, regardless of their result.
The Bruins had only 15 skaters on Saturday. Forwards Ben Johnstone and Keaton Longpre continued to miss time due to injuries, defenceman Nick Egan was rested to protect a minor injury, and left winger Austin Daae was serving a one-game suspension for a hit on Weyburn's Jon Brumwell on Friday.
"I would say it had an impact, definitely. When you take four guys out of the lineup, it'll affect the game. That said, we expect to win no matter who we put into the lineup," said Bruins head coach Chris Lewgood. "The guys that were dressed were capable of doing it. We had some breakdowns. I thought we played OK. This time of year, you expect a little more from your team, but given the circumstances"
Brumwell scored twice for the Red Wings and Donavon Lumb added a single. Michael Sagen and Austin Roesslein had the goals for the Bruins.
On Friday, Bruins goalie Matt Gibney picked up his second shutout of the season as the club stifled Weyburn's offence.
"It was a strong defensive effort and I think it was from all six guys on the ice. Gibney was good as usual and we played a strong team defensive game. We sacrificed some of the offensive opportunities for that."
Bruins captain Tanner Froese scored the game's only goal late in the second period on a feed from Daae.
Lewgood said it was rewarding to see Gibney earn a shutout in the final regular season start of his junior career.
"He deserves it every time. The guy's been probably our most consistent player."
The Bruins are now looking ahead to the Flin Flon series, which gets underway with the first two games Friday and Saturday (7:30 p.m., Affinity Place). The next two games will be Monday and, if necessary, Tuesday in Flin Flon. Game 5, if necessary, is next Thursday in Estevan.
The Bruins were hoping for a rest before starting the playoffs to give their injured players some time to heal. Since that isn't the case, winning the series quickly becomes a priority.
"That'd be a huge advantage for us to win it early. (But) Flin Flon is a hot team right now and they've been battling their butts off for a while now just trying to get in," Lewgood.
The Bruins (27-20-3-6) finished 14 points ahead of the Bombers (23-29-1-2) in the regular season.
Flin Flon traded away most of their top players prior to the trade deadline, including star goalie Devin Buffalo and forwards Brett Boehm, Dillon McCombie, Cam Blair and Sam Williams.
The Bombers still have some talent though, beginning with the likes of Austin Calladine, Parker Evans-Campbell and Austin Evans up front and defencemen Brock Hounsell and Danys Chartrand.
Starting goalie Simon Hofley posted a .916 save percentage and 3.28 goals-against average in 26 appearances.
Lewgood described Flin Flon as an "incredibly hard-working team" that will take a physical toll on their opponents.
"That's the book on them. They're going to work hard and they're going to be physical. Last time we played them, we were pretty black and blue afterward. They lack a little skill compared to some of the other teams, but they make up for it in grit."
He added that he likes the way the Bruins match up offensively, defensively and between the pipes, noting the club went 3-1 against the Bombers this year, with two of those wins coming before they traded their veterans.
"I think we stack up well against them if we put in the effort."
Lewgood said one area that needs improvement is the Bruins' power play, which was first in the league for most of the year but dipped to second near the end, at a 20.4 per cent rate.
He said everyone on the team has to raise their game entering the post-season.
"If anybody thinks they can coast into the playoffs at the level we've been playing, they're mistaken. We need to see improvement from all 20 players. I'm confident the guys understand that and they've been working toward it."
All of the injured players except for Longpre, who is dealing with a back issue, are expected to return on Friday.
