A late goal from Ty McLean vaulted the Weyburn Red Wings to a 3-2 victory over the CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins on Friday, but that wasn't the only thing the home side was upset about after the final buzzer.
Tempers flared on both clubs after Weyburn's Jon Brumwell hit SJHL leading scorer Austin Daae from behind just as the game ended.
Brumwell was suspended for two games for the hit, which did not draw a penalty. Daae injured his shoulder on the play but went on to play in Tuesday's contest against Notre Dame.
Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood was not impressed with the hit.
"It's a blatant attempt to injure. (Brumwell) obviously identifies who he's up against, and there's no point in making a hit at that stage of the game or after the game. He comes high on him, from behind, head into the boards, it's an attempt to injure."
Bruins winger Wyatt Garagan, who scored what was then the tying goal in the third period, also expressed his displeasure with the hit, calling it "garbage" and suggesting Brumwell should have been given a five-game suspension.
"You really want to jump over the boards and grab the guy. I was kinda holding (Connor) McKenzie back there at the end. It's hard to watch that and not do anything about it and (seeing) the ref not make a call."
McLean's winner came with three minutes left, as he buried a backhand behind Bruins backstop Matt Gibney after the puck took a bizarre bounce off a stanchion.
The goal came less than two minutes after Garagan had tied the game.
"I said to the guys after the game, as unlucky as that is, we should not have been in that situation. That's not the effort we need. We should have been well ahead in this game at that point," said Lewgood.
There were some unusual circumstances surrounding Garagan's marker. He fired a shot from the half-boards, which appeared to enter the net and ricochet back out. While Garagan and his teammates celebrated, the play continued and the Red Wings got a scoring chance at the other end.
The play was finally whistled down and Garagan's shot was ruled a goal.
"I was pretty scared. I was hoping I wasn't going to get screwed over. I'm glad (defencemen Zach Douglas and David Robertson) held it together and rushed back while all three of us forwards were celebrating in the corner," Garagan laughed.
Brumwell opened the scoring six minutes into the game, taking a feed in the slot and finishing with a backhand.
Bruins rookie Chris Thorimbert tied it two minutes later with his second SJHL goal, beating Weyburn goalie Rylan Parenteau with a wrist shot from just inside the blue line.
Wings forward Shain Scheschuk gave his team the lead again midway through the second period on a slapper from the high slot.
Lewgood said the outcome likely would have been different had the Bruins buried more of their chances.
"We had a lot of missed chances, and we didn't create enough on our own. You gotta make your own breaks and bury your opportunities. It's starting to sound old when we say missed chances cost us the game. We've gotta start finishing off some of those.
"It was a lack of effort. We weren't mentally prepared. I know the guys want to win every night, there's no question of their will and desire, but tonight they just didn't do the things it takes. Weyburn always works hard and we didn't match their work effort tonight. If we had, we'd be having a different discussion right now."
A pair of defence prospects, 17-year-old Josh Rieger and 16-year-old Jake Tesarowski, filled in on Friday with the Bruins continuing to have only four healthy rearguards.
"I thought those guys played really well, stepping into an unfamiliar environment, and they did at least their share."
The Wings outshot the Bruins 31-27.
Daae was not the only injured Bruin on Friday, as veteran defenceman Nick Egan left the game in the first period after taking a hit from Red Wings forward Donavon Lumb. He returned briefly, only to leave the game for good.
Lewgood said Egan's injury won't keep him out long.
Meanwhile, the Bruins saw their six-game winning streak come to an end on Jan. 14 in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Melville Millionaires.
Estevan defenceman Nolan Nicholas tied the game in dramatic fashion with eight seconds left, scoring from the high slot, but Melville's Lane Harbor won the game in the eighth round of the shootout.
Colin Mospanchuk scored twice for the Mils, along with a single by Harbor. Keegan Allison and Nick Egan had the Bruins' other goals.
The Bruins have a pair of home games this weekend. They face the Nipawin Hawks on Friday and the La Ronge Ice Wolves on Saturday.
Both games are at 7:30 p.m. at Affinity Place.
