The Estevan Power Dodge Bruins suffered a 4-3 overtime letdown to the Weyburn Red Wings at Affinity Place on Saturday night.
Turnovers proved the culprit as Red Wings centre Jacob Wozney and left wing Carson Rose each found the back of Bruins netminder Nathan Alalouf’s net in the final five minutes of the third period to briefly take a 3-2 lead. Bruins leading scorer Matt McNeil notched the equalizer on a shot from the faceoff dot that beat Red Wings goalie Carter Phair top corner with 1:14 remaining only to see Connor Burk bat in an Ian Parker rebound 3:46 into overtime for the winner.
“We got a point out of it and you got to keep playing to the buzzer,” said Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood. “But, at the end of the day, we got to eliminate the mistakes (so) we wouldn’t have been in that position.”
Lewgood said the 2-2 goal by Wozney was the result of a clear giveaway at the blueline where their player had an easy out of the defensive zone, but instead tried to do more. He said the four combined third period goals, after the teams only potted two in the first 40 minutes, were the result of mistakes.
“Both teams were better early on,” he said. “You play better defensive hockey there is not going to be as many chances and as the game went along (that changed). I thought late in the second period it got away from everybody and into the third it was wide open hockey.”
The Bruins (31-15-1-1) second-game loss, following a 3-2 win at Weyburn’s Crescent Point Place on Friday, is their third straight against the Red Wings (23-23-1-4) this season in back-to-back situations. The defeat also prevented Estevan from capturing the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey Association Viterra Division crown with a month still to go in the regular season.
“We’re nine games left in the year,” said Lewgood. “Winning the division against Weyburn on a Saturday night on home ice is fun, but it really isn’t that important a thing. The key is playing good hockey and building toward a playoff run and using every game to get better.”
