Two third-period goals weren't enough for the CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins in a 3-2 loss to the Melville Millionaires on Nov. 14.
The defeat at the hands of the first-place Millionaires at the Horizon Credit Union Centre in Melville dropped the Bruins to 7-10-2 on the season.
The Mils led 2-0 after the first period on goals by Kyle Scaber at 5:52 and Russell Trudeau, on the power play, at 14:34.
Bruins head coach and general manager Keith Cassidy said he was happy with his team's play after that point.
"Especially the second and third period, we controlled the play, we had opportunities to score again and I got to see some good stuff from Dustin Jesseau. I think he's going to bring a lot to the lineup."
Jesseau is a 20-year-old centre that the team acquired from the Abitibi Eskimos of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League last week.
After a scoreless second period, Darcy DeRoose's seventh goal of the year 31 seconds into the third period got the Bruins on the board.
Melville responded only 43 seconds later though, as Sean Aschim scored his 11th of the season.
Tanner Froese got the Bruins within a goal again with a power play marker at 5:46.
Cassidy said there were some positive things to take away from the game.
"I was encouraged. It was a 3-2 score, but we were in the game the whole time and had a chance to win. I was pleased with that. The guys were upbeat and working hard. "
Wednesday's contest marked the end of a three-game suspension to Bruins starting goalie Curtis Martinu. Rookie backup Travis Pelletier started all three games.
"Obviously there are a few things he'd like to do differently, but he's 2-2 over that time and whenever you go to your backup goaltender, if you can play .500 hockey with him in the net, I think it speaks well to what he's done," said Cassidy. "He certainly saved our bacon in the shootout a couple of times and I think he should feel good about that."
Meanwhile, the Bruins hit the road on the weekend for their annual trip to the University of North Dakota, which involves seeing a pair of college hockey games at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks.
Aside from being a good team-building trip, Cassidy said the excursion gets players thinking about their future.
"One of the main reasons behind it is we want to expose these guys to some college hockey, because a lot of them, growing up on the Prairies, the only thing they've been exposed to is the Western Hockey League. The WHL's a great league and we love to send guys (there), but we also want the guys to know that there's an alternative to that in the NCAA if they choose to go that route," said Cassidy.
"A lot of them have heard about it but never really seen it. Going down to UND, there's not a better show in college hockey than what goes on at the Ralph Engelstad Arena."
The team's next game is Friday when the La Ronge Ice Wolves come to town. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Cassidy said he expects to "have a few guys back in the lineup."
The team currently has goalie Steven Glass (knee), left winger Calder Neufeld (ankle) and centre Matt Brykaliuk (shoulder) on the injury list.
