NIPAWIN - After a ceremony that included the first responders on the scene of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash and a pair of very emotional teams on the ice, Game 1 the Canalta Cup final got underway Saturday and the game of hockey took centre stage.
The Power Dodge Estevan Bruins took a while to get in gear but once they did, they took the game to the Nipawin Hawks and held on, adding a pair of empty net goals in the 5-2 win at the Centennial Arena in Nipawin.
The Bruins allowed a power play goal to Josh McDougall of the Hawks at 4:07 of the first but Kaelan Holt added one of his own at 6:36 to tie the game. For the rest of the period and good parts of the second the Bruins took the game physically hard to the Hawks, and even though Jordan Simoneau did well to steal the puck for the Hawks and score on a nice wrist shot, the Bruins' Jayden Davis took advantage of a muffed pass by Nipawin goaltender Declan Hobbs to tap the puck into the open net.
Arthur Miller scored the eventual game winner on a shot that he admits he guessed on when the defencemen near him fell.
“I saw the d-man was gone and I did not aim, I'm not going to lie,” said Miller after the game. “I literally just slapped the puck and it went it. It was a big goal and I'm just happy for the win.”
The Hawks turned up the pressure in the third, pouring 22 shots on a steady Bo Didur, but they couldn't solve him. Michael McChesney and Zach Goberis each scored long distance empty net goals to end the game.
Bo Didur stopped 41 of 43 Nipawin shots in the game.
The game Saturday, with every emotion in the building and the crowd in fine voice, the Bruins prevailed in a game that meant more than just the win on the line.
“It's been a really emotional time for everybody, some more than others because they had personal connections,” said Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood. “For us it was the first step towards building back up...
“Till that final buzzer went, I'd say that was the biggest game ever played in the SJHL. Not just from a hockey standpoint, but from a visibility standpoint. Importance to our communities. But now that we've won it, we haven't accomplished so much. It's one game. We'll look back at it as one of seven or one of four, or whatever it may be, and it'll be just one element.”
The teams will play Sunday night in Game 2 at the Centennial Arena and are scheduled to play Games 3 and 4 Tuesday and Wednesday at Affinity Place. Both games are expected to be sellouts.
