The Estevan Power Dodge Bruins got a little bit of extra satisfaction in beating the Nipawin Hawks 4-3 at Affinity Place on Friday.
The Bruins win was their first over the Hawks (8-3-2) since the Nipawin club knocked the Black and Gold out of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoffs this past spring. It also put an end to the Hawks six-game win streak and provided a bounce back for the Bruins (10-3-0-1) at home after losing their last game on Affinity Place ice 10-3 to the Battlefords North Stars on Oct. 15.
“It was important for us to rally together as a team,” said Bruins assistant captain Jason Miller, who notched the game’s first goal 22 seconds into the opening frame and the game-winning marker with 1:19 remaining in the third period. “That was a tough loss, but that wasn’t us. So, the biggest thing was to come back, rally and not let that one affect the next one.”
The Bruins didn’t let up after Miller’s opening goal pressuring the Hawks offensively over the first 12 minutes of the game where they outshot the northern club 9-0 to the cheers of a packed arena of supporters. Nipawin’s Eric Soar got his team even on their first shot of the game 11:47 in when the defenceman unleashed a slapper from the point four seconds into a man advantage that beat Bruins goaltender Nic Tallarico low glove side. Bruins captain Lynnden Pastachak answered back four minutes later by carrying the puck into the middle of the Nipawin zone and firing a shot top corner on Hawks netminder Kristian Stead.
The home side didn’t let off the gas in the second period with right wing Matt McNeil enjoying a couple of prime scoring chances in the middle of the frame including an open cage look from the side of the crease on the power play that he fired wide before slamming his stick on the ice and across the boards in disgust. Hawks forward Michael Grant then tied the game with less than four minutes remaining in the frame picking up his own rebound in the slot and wiring it past Tallarico to make the score 2-2 heading into the third period.
“The message after the second was just stay the course,” said Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood. “Keep working and have fun.”
Bruins rookie centre Michael McChesney gave his club the lead 6:03 into the third period and stretched his point streak to four games when he tipped in a Jayden Davis centering pass low glove side. The Hawks stepped up the pressure following the goal by swarming the opposition zone with multiple bodies in an attempt to gain possession and eventually potted the tying marker courtesy of Keegan Kjargaard with just under five minutes remaining. The Bruins and Hawks battled back and forth over the final few minutes with Miller banging home a McChesney rebound from the top of the crease with 1:19 left to notch the winner.
“We changed our forecheck a little bit, so we were just hard on them,” said Miller. “We were making simple plays, simple shots and that ended up being the big thing at the end.”
Bruins notes…
The Western Hockey League’s Prince Albert Raiders reassigned 18-year-old goaltender Curtis Meger to the Bruins on Oct. 17. Meger spent the past two seasons with the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League’s Regina Pat Canadians earning the league’s top goaltender award both years by posting an 1.91 goals against average and .934 save percentage over 23 games in 2014-15 and 1.68 GAA and .931 SP in 30 games during the 2015-16 campaign.
The Bruins made way for Meger by trading 18-year-old goalie Kurtis Chapman, who suited up for two games with the team this year where he recorded a 3.39 GAA and .900 SP, to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Portage Terriers on Oct. 19 for a player development fee.
