It took no luck of the Irish, but rather skill and determination for Michael McChesney and the Power Dodge Estevan Bruins to win 3-2 take a 2-0 series lead in the best of seven Canalta Cup quarterfinal over the Kinderlsey Klippers on St. Patrick’s Day at Affinity Place.
McChesney took a stick to the face later in the first period, necessitating a double minor to the Klippers. He would score early in the second period on the power play and then also in the last minute of that period with the man advantage as well.
It’s been that kind of physical series for the Bruins, as the series shifts to Kindersley this week. The Klippers’ size and aggression have been giving the Bruins fits at times, but on this occasion McChesney calmly showed the officials his cut, spit out some blood and proceded to score early in the next period.
“I just took one in the teeth, it hurt and I moved on, we got the two man advantage and good things happened for us,” said McChesney.
“If you get any sort of run and have any kind of success, you’ve got to push the barriers and take advantage of your opportunities,” said Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood. “(Saturday night) is an example of McChesney proving how much of a gamer he is and he was our playoff MVP last year so it was no surprise. We’ve seen it before but it’s a gutsy effort, especially with some physical ability to come through and kind of be the hero for us.”
The Klippers get into the lanes well, McChesney said and it’s sometimes difficult to get shots through but on his first goal, Johnny Witzke made a perfect pass to McChesney in the slot and he converted a quick shot into the net.
“He put it right on my stick and I was lucky enough to put it right under (Kindersley goaltender Justen Close’s) legs,” said McChesney. “They’re a good defensive team. They block a lot of shots and they stay in the lanes. They’ve got a good goalie so these power play goals are big.”
At 9:33 of the first period, Arthur Miller found Zach Goberis in the slot from behind the net and Goberis’ hands didn’t fail him despite the fact he was being closely guarded by a Kindersley defenceman.
“I think we need to match with their physicality and use our speed,” said Goberis. “I don’t think they can handle us when we skate at our pace. So if we match their physicality… we’ll be just fine and it’s showed the last two games.”
The Klippers have size on defence and at forward and have been able to find some success in grinding the game down to a crawl and at times stifling the flow of the game.
“You see big guys in the league and some can move and some can not,” said Goberis. “These guys aren’t the best skaters but they know how to play their systems well. If you just skate and get around them I think we’ll be fine.”
While the wins at home were good and necessary, the focus from the Bruins’ coaching staff is still on winning the series and not being too celebratory over the first two wins.
“First we’ve got to lick our wounds a little bit,” said Lewgood. “As what happens in the two games back to back, you get a little nicked up and beat up…
“We’ve got to flush Games 1 and 2 because they don’t mean much now. They mean towards the wins and losses, but that’s it. You can’t take those wins with you. You can’t take momentum with you. You’ve got to refocus and get ready to play on the road.”
The Bruins fired 34 shots at Close in the Kindersley net Saturday. Bo Didur stopped 25 of 27 shots in the Estevan net for the victory.
The Bruins won the first game with a 3-1 win at Affinity Place in another hard-physical game. The first period saw a pair of players tossed for checking from behind minors in Estevan’s Arthur Miller and Kindersley’s Devon Cyr. Things calmed down in the second as Kaelan Holt, Jayden Davis and Zach Goberis, shorthanded, opened up a lead for the Bruins.
Games 3 and 4 in the best-of-seven series are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Kindersley. Game 5, if necessary will be Friday night at Affinity Place.
The focus will now be on keeping the momentum gained through the first pair of games onto the road.
“I think we should stick to our game plan, and use our speed and match with their physicality,” said Goberis. “If we just play our game and stick to the details, I think we’ll be fine.”
In the other series after two games, the Melfort Mustangs and Humboldt Broncos are tied at 1-1, the Nipawin Hawks have a 2-0 series lead on the Flin Flon Bombers and the Battlefords North Stars have a 2-0 series lead on the Weyburn Red Wings.
