The Power Dodge Estevan Bruins are heading to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s (SJHL) semifinal round. The Bruins had goals from five different players, and goaltender Nathan Alalouf made 35 saves, in the Black and Gold’s 5-0 victory over the Yorkton Terriers on Friday night at Affinity Place. The Bruins won the best-of-seven series in 4-1. It’s the first time since 2005 the Bruins have won a best-of-seven series. They’ll play the top team in the league, the Battlefords North Stars, in the semifinals. After a tentative start to Game 5, Matt McNeil opened the scoring 12:50 into the first period, and defenceman Josh Rieger tallied on a breakaway 85 seconds later to give the Bruins a 2-0 advantage. The second period was scoreless, thanks in large part to Alalouf, who stopped 16 Yorkton shots in the middle frame. Many of those shots came during a flurry midway through the second period when Yorkton had a power play and controlled much of the play. “There was a little bit of pressure, but I try not to focus on that,” said Alalouf.
“I try to keep my mind as clear as possible.” The two-goal lead remained until midway through the third, when Michael McChesney, Kaelan Holt and Zach Goberis scored 5:08 apart to help the Bruins pull away. “I thought my teammates were awesome,” said Alalouf. “In all areas of the ice, we were able to execute our system very well. We played very good defensive hockey today, and shut them down. They didn’t have many scoring chances; most of the shots tonight were from the outside.” Chris Lewgood, the
team’s head coach and general manager, said Alalouf was the club’s best player in the series. Alalouf allowed just 11 goals in five games. “He was great again tonight, and when he needed to, he stood on his head,” said Lewgood. “The best part of his game tonight is he didn’t look in danger of being scored on, other than once where he seemed to have the lane, but the puck hit the post and went wide.” Depth was the other big factor in the series. The Bruins had goals from three different lines in Game 5. “Yorkton has top-end players, just like we do and
anyone else does, but we just seem to have a little more depth than they do,” said Lewgood. “What we call our third line could be our second or first line on any given night.” The fourth line didn’t score in Game 5, but Lewgood thought fourth line forward Levi Barnstable was the Bruins’ best player that night. “He made the most of his tools,” said Lewgood. “He thought the game incredibly well, and the efficiency in his game was tremendous tonight. I thought (linemates Isaac) Embree and Kess (Matthew Kes
slering) played really well.” Game 5 marked the only lopsided victory for the Bruins in the series. Alalouf believes some Bruin mistakes in the series kept the Terriers in it. “There were times in the games where we had lapses, and just really tiny errors where they were able to capitalize and keep getting back into games,” said Alalouf. Lewgood said they don’t have much time to celebrate, because they have so much work ahead of them if they want to knock off the North Stars. “We’re going to have
to be at our best,” said Lewgood. “We’re going to have to be hard on their defence. We’re going to have to shoot the puck a lot, and we’re going to have to slow down their transition game.” Game 1 and 2 will be Friday and Saturday, respectively, in North Battleford. The Bruins will host Game 3 on Monday and Game 4 on Tuesday. Both games will start at 7:30 p.m. Game 5, if necessary, would be April 6 in North Battleford; Game 6 will be April 8 in Estevan; and Game 7 would happen April 10 in North Battleford. The Bruins and the North Stars split their fourgame season series this year. The Bruins won twice in North Battleford, including an 8-6 win in November that ended the North Stars 13-game winning streak. The North Stars took both games at Affinity Place during the regular season. Estevan accounted for two of North Battleford’s 10 losses this season. “We are confident. We do believe we can win this series. But it’s a combination of 58 regular season games and now five postseason games that give us that confidence, not just the four we played against them,” said Lewgood.
