The Estevan TS&M bantam AA Bruins came back from an early one-goal and one-game deficit to beat the Regina Aces in Game 3 of their best-of-three third-round playoff series at Affinity Place on Sunday, but their biggest challenge of this hockey season still awaits.
The Bruins are now set to face the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League (SBAAHL) leading Yorkton Xerox Terriers (25-1-4 during the regular season) in the South Division Final, with Game 1 of the three-game series going tonight at Yorkton’s Farrell Agency Arena and the second game happening at Affinity Place on Friday. If needed, a third game will be played March 13 at Yorkton.
“It’s just going to get tougher,” said Bruins head coach Tom Copeland, noting this is the farthest the Bruins have ever advanced in the SBAAHL playoffs. “What these kids have managed to do is a progression of what we’ve done over the last three years and everybody along the way deserves credit for that.”
The Bruins (18-8-4 and second in the South Division) made it to the final after losing the first game of the third round 5-1 to the Aces March 2 at Affinity Place. Estevan came back from a 3-2 deficit in Game 2 at Regina’s Co-operators Arena on Saturday to win 4-3 and followed that up with a decisive 6-1 victory 24 hours later.
“I think we outplayed them the whole game,” said Bruins forward Dawson Schaff, who scored the game-winner in Regina and assisted on the winner by teammate Mason Strutt on Sunday. “When they got that quick one it was just a bad shift and then we just went out and got them back and carried on from there.”
The Aces’ Max Kotyk beat Bruins goalie Bryson Garton halfway through the first period on a one-timer from the slot. Bruins forward Dalton Schrader replied six minutes later with a deflection of Dylan Hull’s point shot and Strutt got the winner on the power play with 24 seconds remaining in the frame on a jam play off a rebound. The Bruins’ Liam Rutten made the score 3-1 late in the second period, before Schrader, Hull and Jake Palmer beat Aces goaltender Reece Hodson in the third.
“We never give up and we always battle to the end,” said Schaff. “We’re going to have to keep playing like we are and even better.”
