One day after hammering the Regina Wild 8-3, the Estevan Apex Bruins couldn't capitalize on that momentum in a 5-4 loss to the Regina Capitals Sunday at Spectra Place. The midget AA squad nows sits at 6-3-3 in the South Saskatchewan Minor Hockey League heading into a 24-team tournament in Prince Albert this weekend.
On Sunday, the Bruins spotted the Capitals leads of 3-0 and 5-2 and, despite dominating most of the second half of the game, couldn't make up the gap.
"We did have some chances, but I think we had already dug the hole. Trying to get out of that was a little too much for us," said Bruins head coach Tim Lequyer. "In this league, you can't spot a team two or three goals and expect to come back from it."
Regina kicked off the scoring with goals from Sheldon Lietner and Brandon Derkson 36 seconds apart midway through the first period. They would add to that lead just 18 seconds into the middle frame when Kyle Lucier's shot went off the iron and past Apex Bruins goalie Cody Murray.
Estevan responded at 2:09 when Zach Paxman made an outstanding play to set up Kaelum Bieber for a tap-in, carrying the puck down the right side almost to the goal line before threading a pass through the goalmouth.
The Capitals took a 4-1 lead exactly five minutes later when Lucier scored his second of the game off a power play scramble in front of the net. Ryan Frehlick got the Bruins to within two again at the 11-minute mark on a low shot from the top of the slot.
But Regina would respond again, with Drew Kocur knocking in a rebound on the power play with 2:23 to play in the period. The Bruins narrowed the score to 5-3 with 18.5 seconds to go in the second when Dylan Herzberg picked up a rebound and wrapped it around goalie Connor Meredith into the right side of the net.
That goal appeared to give the Bruins an added boost, and Brad Tomiski made it a one-goal game on a point-blank wrist shot at 3:30 of the third, but the Bruins couldn't tie it up despite sustained pressure for most of the period.
Despite getting a four-minute power play late in the third, the Bruins' best chance to tie it up came with 1:27 left when Frehlick broke free for a shorthanded breakaway but was denied with the glove by Merideth.
"(We were) a little snake-bitten around the net. Their goalie made a couple of really nice saves at the end to secure their win," said Lequyer. "We just need to be ready to play. Probably for the first half of the game, that wasn't our regular showing that we've had the last couple of weeks.
"The last half of the game, we kind of dominated the play. We showed we've got some work to do on our power play. The positive is the kids understand they have to come here ready to play."
On Saturday against the Wild, Estevan exploded for five goals in the second period to take a 6-1 lead after 40 minutes. Bieber paced the Bruins with a hat trick and two assists, while Frehlick and Travis Holma had two goals apiece. Dylan Herzberg had the other marker for the Bruins. Adam Edmunds, Derek Scott and Noah Picton scored for the Wild.
"We did play a pretty full game up there. We did a lot of little things right that we forgot to do in the first half of (Sunday's loss)," Lequyer said. "The kids had some points, which is good, but that can be a bad thing as well and I think it showed in the first 30 minutes (on Sunday)."
The Bruins' next regular season action is Nov. 20 when they host the Capitals at Spectra Place.
