The TS&M Estevan bantam AA Bruins defeated the Notre Dame Hounds 4-2 at Affinity Place on Sunday, but a parade to the penalty box proves there is still work to do.
“If we stay out of the penalty box I think we would probably win that game 4-0, so we’ve got to learn to be more disciplined,” said Bruins head coach Tom Copeland. “We’re the two most penalized teams in the league right there and there is no excuse for us to be a most penalized team. I don’t understand it and we’re working on it.”
The Bruins (7-2-3) controlled the play early on going up 12-1 in shots by the 13-minute mark of the first period before an Estevan penalty helped the Hounds (0-8-2) get into the game. A four-minute penalty to the Hounds’ Brett Ambrozic with 1:29 left helped the home side to their first goal when Colby Himmelspeck passed the puck out front and Josh Romanyk knocked it into the net through traffic.
Estevan went up 2-0 a little less than13 minutes into the second when Himmelspeck’s shot from the point went five-hole on Hounds goalie Dalan Marleau. Notre Dame replied on a five-on-three advantage with 3:15 left in the second frame when Andrew Hill tipped a point shot by Tyson Lambert over the glove of Bruins goaltender Bryson Garton to make the score 2-1 heading into the third.
The Bruins opened it up in the final frame when defenceman Dylan Hull scored one minute and 11 seconds into the third with a slapshot from the point that found its way to the top corner glove side of Marleau. Thirty-three seconds later Bruins captain Mason Strutt made the score 4-1 when he managed to deke the Notre Dame goalie from in front before potting the puck into an open cage.
“It was a real good offensive game with lots of shots,” said Hull, who is an assistant captain for the Bruins. “They’re a tough team.”
Copeland said the Hounds typically bring a strong defensive effort and great goaltending and that showed itself on Sunday. He said they managed to outshoot the team early, but that got their goalie into the game early making the match a dangerous one for the home side.
“We had to put out best effort forward,” he said. “Right now every team in our league is capable of winning and Notre Dame is no different.”
