It only took three games for Jason Duret to make a major offensive impact with his new team.
Less than a week after being acquired from the La Ronge Ice Wolves in a five-player trade, Duret scored a goal and two assists on Saturday to lead the CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins to a 5-2 win over the Flin Flon Bombers.
The victory earned the Bruins a split on their weekend road trip, a day after falling 4-2 to the Melfort Mustangs.
Duret played with fellow rookies Keegan Allison and Keaton Longpre for the two games, and it paid off as the young trio combined for seven points.
Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood described the 18-year-old Duret as a strong competitor and said the line was the Bruins' best on the weekend.
"He sees the ice well, and he works hard. He's bound to have more offensive success."
Left winger Austin Daae also had a big night in Flin Flon, continuing his recent tear with a goal and two assists.
"He's a talent. Austin plays the game hard, and he's a creative player and he's got an elite skill set at the Junior A level," Lewgood said.
The game was deadlocked 1-1 after 20 minutes, with Danys Chartrand scoring for the Bombers less than five minutes in and Austin Roesslein countering for the Bruins at the 8:15 mark.
The Bruins scored three times in the second period, despite the shots being recorded as 21-10 for the Bombers.
"We took the play to them pretty good in the second there and capitalized on our opportunities. I just think we played the game the right way that night and took care of all three zones, and when you do that you give yourself chances offensively," Lewgood said.
Daae gave Estevan the lead for good five minutes into the period.
The Bruins extended their lead with a pair of power play goals late in the frame, as Tanner Froese potted a goal at 16:43 and Duret scored with 39 seconds left in the period.
Flin Flon got one back on a shorthanded goal by Brody Robinson less than five minutes into the third. Wyatt Garagan replied at the 16:39 mark to close out the scoring.
The shots were 50-31 for Flin Flon, with Bruins netminder Matt Gibney making 48 saves. Devin Buffalo was in goal for the Bombers.
It was the Bruins' second win at the Whitney Forum this season.
On Friday, the Bruins played a Mustangs club that was fired up after the dismissal of head coach and general manager Gavin Holcomb the previous day.
"We talked before the game that their players would be playing guilty and usually that translates into a pretty solid effort, and it did. They were flying that night," Lewgood said.
He added that if they could play the game again, he'd focus on playing better defensively and holding the Mustangs accountable.
"We tried playing a run-and-gun game with them and we just didn't have the wheels to get it going that night.
"You need to push the pace. It's not enough to be right in it, we had to give more and put things together a little more consistently and if we'd done that, I think we would've won that game."
Brandon Sloan and Longpre traded goals less than two minutes apart late in the first period to tie the game 1-1.
Jamie Miller scored his first of two goals on the night halfway through the second to put the Mustangs back on top.
Daae lit the lamp barely two minutes later to even the score again, but Tristan Frei's marker four minutes after that gave Melfort a 3-2 lead after two periods.
Miller's second tally with three minutes left in regulation added some insurance for the home side.
Gibney stopped 24 of 28 shots for the Bruins, while Austin Rediron made 25 of 27 saves in the Mustangs' cage.
The Bruins hosted the Yorkton Terriers last night and will hit the road again this weekend, playing a rematch in Yorkton on Friday and visiting the Melville Millionaires on Sunday.
