The Estevan TS&M Bruins hockey team beat the Yorkton UCT Terriers 7-5 for their first Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League (SBAAHL) season win Sunday at Yorkton’s Kinsmen Arena.
Tom Copeland, head coach of the Bruins, said the game was a sloppy back and forth affair, but it did feature outstanding goaltending by their netminder Bryson Garton to keep them in the game and a great offensive performance by Mason Strutt, who netted a hat trick to go along with two assists. He said all-in-all the kids worked hard and the coaching staff sees a lot of positives moving forward.
“Today was just an all-out effort by all the kids doing the things it takes to win hockey games,” said Copeland shortly after the win. “We’re pretty happy.”
Copeland said there are at least three potential Western Hockey League picks on the Terriers (0-1) roster right now, so they are obviously very talented and set up to defend their provincial championship from the last two seasons. He said the Bruins (1-0) managed to corral this offence and took advantage of their breaks to get the win.
“We played a very strong first and third period,” he said. “The second period…that will happen with a young team. They made a lot of mistakes and you get pinned in your own zone and you have to learn from that. But despite our poor play in the second period we won the period 2-1 and came out of it with a 5-4 lead, so that was huge. Sometimes you get the breaks and we got a few breaks today.”
Heading into this season, Copeland said the Bruins are a younger squad and a bit inexperienced, but they have loads of speed, are easy to coach and show a fantastic work ethic. He said they should also be able to count on solid goaltending this year to get them through any tight games.
In the SBAAHL this season, Yorkton is pegged as the top ranked team in the South Division, while the Humboldt Broncos are presumed to be the powerhouse of the North with the North East Wolfpack following closely behind.
Copeland said the Bruins are right up there with Yorkton in the South and should contend for a division crown. He said they’ll have competition from a strong Prairie Storm team, competitive Moose Jaw and Swift Current squads and a tough club in Weyburn, but if they tighten up defensively they’ll be fine.
“Today proves the kids can play with everybody,” he said. “We should compete for a top four spot in our division for sure, but it’s going to take a lot of hard work and you need (that in) every game to do it.”
