If not for the heroics of goaltender Matt Gibney, the Estevan Bruins would be heading into tonight's second game down 1-0 in their survivor series against the Flin Flon Bombers.
Gibney made 50 saves and Jason Duret scored the winner four minutes into the second overtime period to give the Bruins a 3-2 victory in the series opener Friday night.
In a game that saw the underdog Bombers dominate the second and third periods, Gibney was there time and time again to hold them at bay. However, the visitors finally solved him when Erik Pederson scored on a shot from the left circle with 1:04 left in regulation.
Moments earlier, Kyle Bird fired a feed from Michael Sagen over the net with half the net to shoot at, which allowed Flin Flon to tie it.
The Bruins came back to life in the two overtime periods, resulting in great drama as the teams traded Grade A scoring chances at both ends. The best chance came when Tyson Empey had half the net open at the side of the net, and I think everyone in the building thought the game was over, but Gibney managed to get over and make a miraculous stop.
Duret finally ended it in double overtime when Keegan Allison got away from his man in the corner and fed his linemate in front, with Duret making no mistake.
That line was probably the Bruins' best, with Allison scoring their first goal in the first period and Lynnden Pastachak buzzing all night.
Allison's goal came on a puckhandling mistake by Bombers rookie goalie Simon Hofley. The puck came out to the slot, Allison got there ahead of the Flin Flon defencemen and tucked a backhander just beyond the reach of a diving Hofley.
The Bruins were the better club in the first period, dominating possession for the first 12 minutes or so before the Bombers pushed back a bit.
The tables turned in the second, with the Bombers throwing everything at Gibney and forcing him to make some spectacular saves.
However, it was the Bruins potting the first goal of the period, when Sagen - probably the team's most dangerous forward - took a centring feed from Duret and found a little hole over Hofley's right shoulder.
The Bombers got it back on the very next shift though, as Empey found the back of the net on a feed from Austin Evans. I lost count of how many great scoring chances Empey had. He was the Bombers' best player for my money.
There was no more scoring until Pederson's late goal to tie it, despite the Bombers outshooting the Bruins 27-14 in the second and third periods, many of those 27 shots being prime chances.
The secret to the Bombers' success last night was faceoffs, winning most of the battles for loose pucks and physical play on the walls. They also managed to shut down the Bruins' second-ranked power play, preventing them from working the puck inside.
One thing is for certain, the Bruins have to be much better tonight. As Chris Lewgood said last night, it's not so much about making adjustments as it is about executing the game plan better.
Here's what Gibney had to say after his first star performance:
