It was a very good showing for the Estevan TS&M Bruins on the weekend in a major showcase tournament.
The Bruins made it to the C semifinal in the 30-team Graham Tuer Bantam AA Challenge tournament held annually in Regina.
The Bruins started their run at the tournament with a successful round robin against three provincial rivals. They then battled the Southwest Cougars in the first playoff game and won 2-1 before the Interlake Lightning beat the Bruins 5-1 in the tournament’s C semifinal.
The Bruins started with a 3-3 tie of the Regina Aces Thursday. Kaden Chrest and Mason Kukura helped spark the team to an immediate 2-0 lead 1:12 into the first period. Regina fought back and tied by the end of the period and took a lead 13:21 into the second. But on a power play with six seconds left in the second, Boden Dukart scored to tie the game at 3-3. The teams went through the third period scoreless. Jackson Miller stopped 38 shots for the Bruins.
The Saskatoon Stallions were next on the agenda for the Bruins and Estevan did a good job of keeping control of the game, which ended 4-1 for the Bruins. Chrest and James Mann scored two each in the game, with Landon Marcotte picking up a pair of assists. Joshua Bittman stopped 25 shots in the Bruins net.
The Bruins closed out the round robin with a tight loss to the Pirates. Kukura and Colby Cuddington scored for the Bruins, with Cuddington’s goal cutting the Pirates’ lead to 3-2 with 5:45 on the clock in the third period. But the Bruins couldn’t get the tying goal despite outshooting the Pirates 13-10 in the third period. Bittman made 22 saves in the loss.
For the first playoff game against the Southwest (Winnipeg) Cougars, Dukart and Kukura scored in the first and second period, respectively. A goal by the Cougars’ Luke Robson with one second left couldn’t change the outcome and the Bruins moved on. Miller made 35 saves to earn the win.
In their next game, Jordan Marcotte scored in the first period to bring the Bruins to being only down 2-1 but the team couldn’t score the rest of the game and the Lightning won 5-1. Miller stopped 29 in the Bruins’ net in the loss.
The Bruins’ next action in the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League will be Tuesday night against the Weyburn Red Wings in Weyburn and then the Bruins will play in Regina Nov. 4 against the Regina Pat Blues.
