They did it the hard way, but the CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins got back in the win column on the weekend with a pair of come-from-behind victories at home.
The Bruins earned a 4-3 victory over the Nipawin Hawks on Friday, then overcame a slow start in a 4-3 overtime win over the La Ronge Ice Wolves on Saturday.
The Bruins (22-15-2-4) are now two points behind the sixth-place Humboldt Broncos in their bid for a first-round playoff bye.
Estevan never led during Saturday's game, clawing back from a pair of two-goal deficits in a rally that ended with Tanner Froese scoring the overtime winner.
Froese stole the puck from Ice Wolves defenceman Joren Johnson in the offensive zone, then played a give-and-go with linemate Austin Daae that ended with Froese burying a feed from Daae in the slot.
"Tanner (forechecks) hard and strips the puck and then drives the net. Every day in practice, that's what we preach to these guys and it's nice to see it paying off," said Bruins assistant coach Aren Miller. "You never quit on the puck and that's all it was. I don't think the d-man expected him to be that quick inside the blue line."
The first half of the game favoured the Ice Wolves, as they held a 3-1 lead midway through the second period.
Rhett Kehoe fired a shot through traffic from the left faceoff circle on a power play to open the scoring 12 minutes into the first.
The Wolves extended their lead two minutes into the second on a highlight reel effort from Daulton Siwak, who opened some space on a breakaway by flicking the puck off his skate, then tucked it past Bruins goalie Brett Lewchuk.
Estevan countered three minutes later on Ben Johnstone's first of two goals, as he popped in a Nolan Nicholas rebound on a power play.
The Ice Wolves regained their two-goal cushion at the halfway mark, with Kyle Campbell tipping home a point shot by ex-Bruin Brett Blatz.
The Bruins replied with another harmless-looking point shot resulting in a goal, as an attempt by Zach Douglas ricocheted off Daae and into the net.
"I think that was a really good play," Johnstone said of the momentum-swinging goal. "It came from the (defenceman's) shot, which is something we've been doing really well lately, just getting shots through. As long as the puck gets to the net, we usually find a way to put them in."
The hosts tied the game less than two minutes into the third, with Johnstone striking again on a tic-tac-toe passing play with linemates Michael Sagen and Austin Roesslein.
"I think those three are really coming together. I think they're getting to know where each other is a little more," Miller said of the recently formed unit.
Johnstone added that Sagen, acquired at the trade deadline, complements the other two well.
"With (Roesslein's and my) speed, we just go out there and work hard, and Sagen can find us no matter where we are. As long as we keep playing the way we are, I have a good feeling about this year."
The shots on goal were 36-34 for La Ronge.
On Friday, meanwhile, the Bruins squandered a strong start with a poor second period before coming back to earn the two points.
Defenceman David Robertson broke the ice early, as his floater from the blue line fooled Hawks goalie Joe O'Brien two minutes in.
Later in the period, Lynnden Pastachak skated past the net before dishing a no-look feed back to Keegan Allison for a short side goal.
It was all Nipawin in the second, starting six minutes in when Kris Spriggs took a centring pass from Mitch Doell and beat Bruins starter Matt Gibney five-hole.
Brett Harris knotted the score later in the period, setting up Tad Kozun's go-ahead marker 21 seconds before the buzzer, as he pinpointed a bad-angle shot past Gibney.
"We took some penalties, and we have a lot of quality players that play a lot of ice that don't get out on the penalty kill," Bruins head coach Chris Lewgood said of the second period lull. "When you start sitting on the bench for a little bit, it's hard to get into a rhythm and that can contribute to it."
He added that it was important to put Kozun's goal behind them and "bring a solid effort" in the third.
Froese tied the game less than seven minutes into the third after Daae stole the puck and set him up. Then, only 31 seconds later, Roesslein's 11th of the year gave the Bruins the lead.
Estevan outshot Nipawin 33-26.
Good news could be on the horizon for the Bruins, as they are hoping to see injured rearguards Kyle Bird and R.T. Rice return for Saturday's home game against Flin Flon (7:30 p.m. puck drop). Both players have been out of action since going down on Jan. 8.
