The bounces didn't go the Estevan Power Dodge Bruins way in their 6-0 loss to the Kindersley Klippers at Affinity Place on Saturday, but that wasn't the only reason for the lopsided loss.
“Some of the guys didn't have a very good night tonight,” said Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood. “If one of the guys isn't having a good night the other guy has got to pick up the slack and unfortunately tonight we couldn't pick up the slack. We didn't band together and get the offence created that we wanted. We didn't find a way to get the puck to the back of the net.”
The Bruins started strong outshooting the Klippers 10-1 before the game was six minutes old. The relentless pressure forced Kindersley into taking a few penalties resulting in a lengthy five-on-three opportunity 12:25 into the first period, but the power play units failed to generate any good opportunities in close on Klippers netminder Nick Trenciansky.
A minute after the two-man advantage ended, Kyle Bosch snuck a shot past Bruins goaltender Nic Tallarico who seemed to be interfered with on the play and voiced his objection to referee Chris Shore afterwards about the non-call. Jordan Evans then put the Klippers up 2-0 with 34 seconds left in the frame backhanding the puck five-hole on Tallarico from the slot.
Evans notched his second of the night 6:10 into the second period knocking in a Cody Hodgson rebound with both clubs skating four aside. Klippers centre Branden Wagner made it 4-0 at the 7:12 mark resulting in Tallarico getting the hook and Curtis Meger coming in as his replacement.
“He's capable of playing better than that, but that's your typical mercy pull,” said Lewgood. “We saw some things weren't going his way and we left him in for seven against up in Melfort and again that was a team effort. But this was a case where we thought we could get the players playing a little better by making a goalie change.”
The Klippers welcomed Meger to the game four-and-a-half minutes after he entered the net with Hodgson setting up Jordan Funk for an open cage tap in while the two skaters were in behind the defence. Despite the Bruins continuing to outshoot the Klippers heavily in the third period, Kindersley forward Carson Pickett was the only skater able to find the back of the net in the final 20 minutes.
“Our goalie was really good,” said Geoff Grimwood, head coach and general manager of the 9-10-1 Klippers. “It was a 6-0 win, but really I thought Estevan could have had four or five goals in the first period alone. Honestly, I thought we were lucky. Estevan played well (but) we managed to get pucks in the net and they didn't.”
The Bruins (15-5-0-1) loss came on the heels of a 3-2 defeat to the Melville Millionaires (8-9-1) at Affinity Place on Friday, which followed a 5-0 pasting of the Yorkton Terriers (5-10-3) last Tuesday at home. The Black and Gold play the fourth match of their five-game homestand tonight when the Millionaires pay a return visit, but the team will have to do so without the services of centre Zach Goberis who is serving a one-game suspension for being involved in a second fight during a stoppage of play in the third period against the Klippers.
“We got to keep working,” said Lewgood. “The score (of the Bruins-Klippers game) doesn't do our work ethic justice and the key is taking that work ethic and improving on it, improving on the attention to detail and bearing down on our opportunities. We got to practise hard this week. We got to practise with some humility and just be a better team.”
