Unlike 80s band Boy Meets Girl, the Power Dodge Estevan Bruins weren’t waiting for a star to fall, they went out and made it happen at Affinity Place Saturday.
The Bruins won 4-3 over the Battlefords North Stars in a hard fought Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League battle with several players out with injury and Arthur Miller to suspension. Outshot 49-19 by the Stars, the Bruins paid no mind to the shot clock and focused on putting quality chances on the Stars’ Taryn Kotchorek.
“The specific guys that we’re missing are playing key components in the defensive game,” said Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood, referring to forwards Miller, Jake Fletcher, Matthew Chekay and defenceman Johnny Witzke. “They’re guys that play a lot of big minutes against the team’s top lines. It’s really tough to do. We talked before the game that nobody in our lineup is going to step up and fill the shoes of any one of the those guys. It’s going to take the 19 guys dressed, to each … do their share and a little bit more to make up the guys who are missing.”
One of those players who did just that was Jayden Davis, whose move in front of Kotchorek froze a defenceman and allowed Davis to score his fifth of the year at 17:05 of the first period. Although Battlefords evened the scored three times in the game, TJ Irey scored twice and Zach Goberis potted the winner at 15:53 of the third period.
“Everybody contributed tonight and it wasn’t perfect but it was hard work and it was passionate and it was exactly what we hoped for in a situation like this,” Lewgood said.
Bo Didur between the pipes was solid as the shots poured in on him, stopping a total of 46 shots.
“Bo has been tremendous for us since he’s been here,” Lewgood said. “He came to us after a run of playing below his level and down on his luck. We knew he was a high character guy and we knew if we can help him with his confidence he can be what he’s been in the past and what he’s capable of being. He’s been all that and more. Between him and Matty (Lukacs), we’ve had solid goaltending every night for a long time now. It went from an area where we needed to grow and be better to a real strength on our hockey team.”
Didur played four plus years in the BCHL with Surrey, Langley and Salmon Arm before coming to the Bruins in a trade for a player development fee late last November. He’s earned a 2.05 goals against average and an 8-3-1 win-loss record together with a .931 save percentage. He has yet to give up more than four goals in any game.
“I got a taste of them … up north in their home barn and they’re an energy team for sure,” said Didur. “They feed off momentum and they play strong at the start of every period. They like to funnel pucks to the net and they just kind of keep going.”
Confidence grows against a team like the Battlefords as the saves pile up.
“It’s nice to get shots and get into a rhythm and kind of feel the puck the way you want to when the rubber’s coming at you a lot,” Didur said.
Kotchorek, meanwhile has played like Superman against the rest of the SJHL but more like Clark Kent against the Bruins this year. He has a 2-2-1 record with a 4.20 goals against average against Estevan this year but a 13-6-1 record with four shutouts and a 2.09 goals against this year versus the rest of the SJHL.
The Bruins inserted hometown 15-year-old defenceman Alex Von Sprecken into the lineup due to the injuries. He’s scored three goals and 11 assists this year with the midget AAA Notre Dame Hounds.
Saturday, as the youngest Bruin Lewgood believes has played with the team (15 years, four months, 30 days), Von Sprecken played in limited action, only getting a handful of shifts. He was one of eight defencemen dressed and Lewgood said it’s important put players in situations to succeed.
“With the scattered lineup today it was hard to find those situations,” Lewgood said. “I figure we probably could have played him more and he would have done fine but it’s really important to manage those guys so we know what they’re capable of and we know how good they are.”
With a fight Saturday, Austin King-Cunningham will miss the next game due to an automatic suspension. That may mean Von Sprecken or another young player gets another chance on Wednesday against Weyburn, the Bruins’ next game, or Friday in Weyburn. Fletcher could be back Wednesday but Witzke won’t be back until at least after the Weyburn games (shoulder), Miller has two games to go in a boarding suspension and Chekay is dealing with a head injury.
“We’re excited about some of the young guys we have coming down the pipeline so we’re really looking forward to get them in,” said Lewgood.
