The Estevan Apex midget AA Bruins will face off at Affinity Place tonight against the Weyburn Lightstream Wings in the opening game of the South Saskatchewan Minor Hockey League (SSMHL) playoffs.
“We didn't have very good performances against them this year,” said Bruins head coach Blake Jamieson. “We beat them in the Prince Albert tournament, (and) our last game was 7-4 (for us). They have good goaltending, so we'll just have to match their goaltending and capitalize on our chances and we'll be fine.”
The Bruins, who enter the playoffs as the SSMHL's second seed with a 23-8-7 regular season record, went 1-1-2 against the Wings (14-14-10, seventh place) this season. Estevan lost to their Highway 39 rivals 4-3 at home Nov. 1, tied the club 4-4 Nov. 22 at Weyburn's Crescent Point Place, tied the Wings 3-3 on the road Jan. 3 and finally beat them by the 7-4 score at Affinity Place on Jan. 31.
The Bruins enter the playoffs on a seven-game undefeated streak, including two big wins this past weekend where they first trounced the Moose Jaw Warriors 11-2 on the road Saturday before shutting out the Millionaires 4-0 in Melville Sunday.
Jamieson said their powerplay was clicking in the win against the Warriors, which also clinched the Bruins second place in the standings and eliminated Moose Jaw from playoff contention. The win against Melville also destroyed any hope they had of making it to the first round.
“That's nice to go into playoffs on a high,” said Jamieson, noting tonight's game will also feature a guaranteed 50/50 prize.
