Despite taking a one-game lead in their best-of-three South Saskatchewan Minor Hockey League (SSMHL) semifinal series with a dominating Game 1 performance, the Estevan Apex midget AA Bruins couldn’t match the Notre Dame Hounds’ offensive prowess in games two and three.
The Hounds tied up the series at their home Duncan McNeil Arena on Thursday with a 5-1 win, which they followed up with a 7-4 victory over the Bruins at Affinity Place on Sunday.
“It’s tough, obviously, when you win Game 1 10-1 and you come out on the losing end of it,” said Bruins head coach Blake Jamieson. “They scored on their scoring chances and we (didn’t), so at the end of the day that’s what it came down to.”
Bruins forward Preston Brodziak got the scoring started off five-and-a-half minutes into Game 3 before the Hounds’ Kane Altwasser found the back of Cam Lavoie’s net just past the halfway point of the opening frame. After Colton Winton beat Hounds netminder Riley Kohonick to put the Bruins ahead once again at the 15:53 mark, Notre Dame’s Denis Novikov evened up the game with eight seconds remaining in the first period.
Notre Dame’s Aaron Kosinsky and Ryatt Bayne were the only skaters able to light the lamp in the second period giving the Hounds a 4-2 lead entering the third. The Hounds’ Ryder Pierson, Altwasser and Kosinsky scored before the final period was 10 minutes old, with the Bruins’ Hunter Piche and Winton providing the replies in the last few minutes.
“We had a great season,” said Jamieson, noting the club finished second overall in the SSMHL this year. “We were a very tight knit group. We won the B-side in the (mid-November) Prince Albert tournament. We came a long way. It was a good series, just a lopsided couple of games. I’m very proud of our team, our coaching staff and our players.”
