The Estevan midget A Bruins are suckers for adversity.
The Bruins fell 3-0 to the Yorkton Terriers at Affinity Place on Sunday in the first game of their two-game total-point Saskatchewan Hockey Association playoff. The teams meet again this Sunday at Yorkton's Kinsmen Arena for Game 2 of the second round series.
“We got to get the puck to the net,” said Bruins coach Ron Sorenson. “We weren't getting it across the blueline. (We need to be getting) in control, dumping it in and trying to get those pucks to the net. We just weren't shooting enough tonight, that's for sure.”
The Terriers came out of the gate hungry for a goal with Jordan Evens earning the first good opportunity on a breakaway six minutes into the game, but Bruins goalie Zack Miller was up to the task stoning the forward on his attempt at a low corner. Parker Huber made good with his shot at the opposite corner on a drive to the net off the wing at the 19:32 mark of the first period.
The Terriers' Micheal Dobrowolski made it 2-0 about two minutes into the middle frame by picking up the trash during a scramble in front of Miller's net. Carson Thorley followed with a goal at the 4:56 mark to put the Terriers up by three.
A steady path to the penalty box in the final 10 minutes of the second period hurt the Bruins chances of mounting a comeback as did their shots on goal, which stood at 16-7 in the Terriers favour after 40 minutes. Sorenson noted the message to the players during the second intermission was to just play hard and leave it all on the ice.
Zachary Goulden-Maddin almost gave the Terriers a four-goal lead five minutes into the third period by splitting the Bruins defence for a chance in close that Miller knocked away with his pad. The Bruins fought back late, but could not get anything past Terriers goaltender Nathan Pidperyhora.
“We played really good in the third period,” said Sorenson. “We were moving the puck better, got in a lot of penalty trouble still, but we definitely played better in the third period.”
The Bruins faced a similar situation in the first round falling 3-1 on the road to the Davidson Huskies on Feb. 1 before coming back to win the series five days later at Affinity Place with an 8-2 victory. Sorenson said that result gives the team confidence they can do the same this weekend.
“We're going to go into Yorkton and give it our all, for sure.”
