The Power Dodge Estevan Bruins might have eight points in the regular season on their first round playoff opponent, the Kindersley Klippers, but their regular season record against them wasn’t the offensive tour de force that it was against other teams.
The teams are scheduled to hit the ice Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Affinity Place for the first round of their playoff series. But the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League teams met thrice in January, with the Bruins winning once at home (3-2 in overtime Jan. 10) and once on the road (3-2 in a shootout at Kindersley). The Bruins also went down 2-1 Jan. 13 at Affinity Place and lost 7-5 in Kindersley way back on Sept. 22, 2017.
“They’re the heaviest team in the league,” said Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood of the Klippers. “They’re big, strong, gritty and they play really hard. They have a decent skating team for how big they are and they have a skill set to complement (them). They’re sort of a utility team. They’ve got a little bit to offer in each category and they’ve got one of the best goaltenders in the league.”
“I think we’ve got a lot more speed than them,” said Bruins third year forward Kaelan Holt. “I think if we skate and use our skill, we’ll be alright. But we’ve got to play them hard every game and we can’t take them lightly. It’ll be a really good series.”
Lewgood’s team totaled 11 goals in four games against the Klippers (2.75 goals per game), while piling up 228 in the other 54 games against the rest of the league (4.22 gpg). One of the big reasons for that is starting goaltender Justen Close, who went 21-17-4-3 in the season with a 2.71 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. That save percentage was second in the league to Nipawin’s Jake Anthony and .003 ahead of Bruins netminder Bo Didur, third best among qualified goaltenders.
“The biggest thing is that you’re not going to beat that guy (Close) a whole lot on your first opportunity, unless you get really good traffic,” said Lewgood. “So number one you’ve got to get traffic and number two is you’ve got to take advantage of your second opportunities. You’ve got to go hard to the net and you’ve got to get… on rebounds and those types of things.”
The Klippers aren’t afraid to mix it up physically, with four different players getting over 100 penalty minutes during the regular season.
“I expect them to hit a lot,” said Holt. “They’re an intimidating team and I think we learned throughout the regular season that we can’t take them lightly and kind of hit back and don’t let them push us around. I think that’ll be key to winning the series.”
The Bruins are no shrinking violets either with four of their own players eclipsing the century mark, with Hayden Guilderson and TJ Irey knocking on the door with 99 and 98 PIM each.
Kindersley’s also a tougher challenge for the Bruins than they might have liked given they’re a six hour bus ride away.
“We’re not excited about the travel but we’re excited to play a hard working team that’s been one of the best in the league and we’ve got to get some breaks and we’ve got to work hard to earn them, too,” Lewgood said. “We’re pumped about the playoffs getting here and now the real season starts.”
Like their counterparts in the Energy City, the Klippers fought hard down the stretch to ensure their playoff position was as advantageous as possible. In earning sixth place overall in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, the Klippers won seven of their last ten games and sailing past the Notre Dame Hounds and Weyburn Red Wings into a first round matchup with the Bruins.
But unlike the Bruins, the Klippers lack a dynamic scorer. Leading scorer Keillan Olson started the year in Nipawin and led the team in SJHL scoring with 59 points in 59 games. Zach Goberis, Kaelan Holt, Jake Fletcher, Guilderson and Michael McChesney each scored more than Olson. The Klippers’ second leading scorer Tanner Thompson had 46 points in 58 games. No one else in Kindersley topped 40 points.
When it comes to specialty teams, the Bruins’ power play was fourth in the league during the regular season (22.3 per cent) and Kindersley was sixth (18.6). The Bruins had the eighth best penalty kill at 80.8 per cent, while Kindersley was third at 83.9. The Bruins scored 12 shorthanded goals – leading the league – compared to Kindersley’s six.
The teams ranked first and second in the league in total amount of penalty minutes, with the Klippers first at 1,554 and the Bruins not far behind at 1,499.
