The Estevan peewee AA Westmoreland Coal Company Bruins needed a fourth shootout round to beat the Regina Royals 6-5 in their home tournament final at Affinity Place on Sunday.
After trading goals in the first and third rounds of the shootout, Royals defenceman Noah Schauenberg failed to beat Bruins goaltender Jackson Miller. With the game on his stick, Estevan's Max Wanner skated in from centre, deked Royals netminder Kellen Bojic to the stick side and then slid the puck into the net past Bojic's outstretched glove.
“It went well,” said Bruins coach Mike Merriman, who was joined on the bench by fellow coach Tim Miller and assistant Trevor Erdie. “You definitely feel good about the kids. It's October and the more games we can play tight like that we'll learn how to win. We lost a couple tight games like that too, so it's nice to come out with a win.”
The Bruins started the final hot. Only 2:48 in, Estevan's Turner McMillen took a pass from Keegan Merriman and fired a wrist shot from the hash marks that snuck between Bojic's glove and pad to put the home side up 1-0.
A little over four minutes later with the Bruins applying pressure in the offensive zone, Riley Niven skated the puck out from the back of the net and tried to jam it between Bojic's pad and the post. The Royals goalie stopped the first attempt, but Niven's swipe at the rebound popped the puck over Bojic's pad to make the score 2-0.
Niven got his second of the game with 6:45 remaining when he unleashed a wrist shot from in close that put the team up 3-0. The Royals got that one back a little under two minutes later on the power play when a faceoff win by Logen Hammett dribbled to Regina's Hunter Wood who beat Miller five-hole from the bottom of the circle.
Estevan replied 18 seconds later with a four-on-four marker by McMillen when he skated in on a partial breakaway, swept across the crease with Bojic down and potted the puck low stick side into the open cage.
After weathering the initial storm, the Royals gained the momentum at the end of the first period and battled back through a goal by Cole Sillinger with exactly one minute remaining and another by Hammett thirty seconds later. The score stood at 4-3 Bruins after the first.
The Royals kept up the pressure in the second and tied the game midway through the frame on a great cross-crease pass from Eric Johnston to Wood who found himself with an easy tap in. Regina went ahead three minutes later on another Bruins' defensive zone faceoff loss that saw Wood pick up his third of the evening.
Estevan's Conner Gardiener replied for the home side with 1:23 remaining when he poked a Wanner rebound between Bojic's pads. Despite numerous chances for both sides, neither team managed to find the back of the net in the third period and overtime setting up the shootout.
“Both teams played very well,” said Royals coach Rodney Hammett, noting the two teams will meet again Nov. 8 in Regina. “When you get to this level of hockey it's pretty tough and could go either way.”
The Bruins made it to the final by beating the Regina Buffaloes 8-1 at the Icon Centre on Friday evening and the Brandon Wheat Kings 13-1 on Saturday morning at Affinity Place in round-robin play. They needed overtime to best the Saskatoon Express 7-6 at Affinity on Sunday morning to set up the final with the Royals, who also went 3-0 in the round robin and playoffs. The Express would take third place in the tournament with a 4-2 win over the Regina Tigers at the Civic Auditorium on Sunday, while the Buffaloes and Wheat Kings finished fifth and sixth respectively.
Merriman said their home tourney championship came down to a mix of luck and hard work. He said the main thing he noticed from his club is they didn't quit and rebounded whenever they found themselves in a tight situation.
The four Bruins games over the weekend were the only action the team will see at home until Dec. 5 and 6 when they host the Moose Jaw Warriors. In league and tournament play this season Estevan sits at 7-4-1.
“We're playing well, but we need to get a couple lucky bounces,” said Merriman, noting two of their losses came in close games similar to the tournament final. “This last little stretch has been good.”
