I sure liked what I saw from the Estevan Bruins on Friday night.
I saw a team that seized an opportunity, more or less dominated the first 40 minutes, then bore down, did some incredible penalty killing, and avoided previous letdowns.
I saw a team that could have folded, that half the rink probably expected to fold, based on past performances, but instead got the job done and won back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Sure, they were playing a middle of the pack club in the Battlefords North Stars, and not a world-beater, but it's a step, and a bit of confidence can go a long way.
One of the storylines in Friday's 4-1 win was the continued emergence of forwards Hudson Morrison and Darcy DeRoose. Both players have started to assert themselves in recent games, and this was a breakout performance for both.
DeRoose scored his second and third goals of the season, and Morrison easily could have been named first star after an all-around effort that showed a glimpse of why he was a highly sought recruit.
The play he made to get past a defenceman at the blueline and create a wide open lane to hit DeRoose with a cross-ice pass for a backdoor goal was something you don't usually see from 18-year-olds at this level.
The last two wins have put the top three spots in the division within reach again, as the Bruins sat four points behind the third-place Notre Dame Hounds with a game in hand, and they face the Hounds twice in the next week.
But there is still a long way to go for this club, which entered last night's game in Yorkton sporting a 4-7-2 record, and Friday's win over the Stars will have to become the norm, not the exception.
The team hopes Thursday's trades for Roger Tagoona and Brendan Wilde will help that become reality.
Tagoona is well known in SJHL circles; the 20-year-old right winger had 40 points as a rookie in Melville two years ago, then dipped to 22 points last year between the Mils and North Stars.
He had six points in nine games this year at the time of the trade.
If Tagoona can return to the kind of production he had as a rookie and become a staple on the first or second line, this could be a stellar pickup. Tagoona also adds some jam to the lineup, and he has been on some very good teams. The hope is that will rub off a bit.
It's not uncommon for players to be traded and then face their old team in their first game with the new club. In fact, that happened when the Bruins traded Ryan Ostertag to Nipawin last year.
But to do it the way Tagoona did, hitching a ride on the North Stars' bus because he didn't have a vehicle? That could be a first.
Meanwhile, Wilde also made his Bruin debut Friday after coming over from Weyburn (yes, the Bruins and Wings made a trade - imagine that).
It remains to be seen how much offence Wilde will contribute, but I liked the energy he brought to Friday's game, and the way he stood up for new teammate Austin Yano in a fight midway through the third period.
After a few viewings spread between the pre-season and regular season, Wilde strikes me as a sparkplug kind of player.
***
Yes, Brandon Isaac's hit on Darian Durant was dirty.
Yes, it should have been called.
I may be a biased Argo fan, but no, it didn't cost the Riders the game.
I got back to my seat from the beer line to find out that Tristan Jackson had returned the second half kickoff to the Argos' 13 and I mentally put the Riders ahead 23-21, pending the touchdown that would come in a play or two.
Nah. Not only did the Riders not get into the end zone, but kicker Sandro DeAngelis then missed a chip shot from 16 yards.
Good thing the Riders had already clinched a playoff spot. I wouldn't want anyone to end up with manure on their lawn.
Then there was the other field goal he missed that would've given the Riders the lead, or the fact that the Riders were flat in the first quarter and spotted the Argos a 14-0 lead.
I was one of three fans in the stadium (I counted) who went home happy.
Na-na na-na boo boo.
(Don't hunt me down, please.)
Josh Lewis can be reached by phone at 634-2654, by e-mail at sports@estevanmercury.ca, on Twitter at twitter.com/joshlewis306 or on his Bruins blog at estevanmercury.ca/bruinsbanter. So, we had an election apparently?
