In the dark confines of Weyburn’s Crescent Point Place on Sunday, the Estevan Westmoreland Coal Company peewee AA Bruins lit the lamp early and often in a 14-1 win over the Weyburn Youngfellow Wings.
“It was pretty good that we had lots of goals,” said Bruins defenceman Jeremy Meredith, who tallied one assist in the game. “It was good passing.”
The Bruins controlled the play from the get-go, going up 1-0 on a wrist shot from Turner McMillen a little under two-and-a-half minutes into the game. Estevan’s Riley Niven brought the score to 2-0 about 11 minutes later when he dashed in on a short-handed breakaway off a won faceoff in the Bruins zone and blasted a shot top corner glove side past the Weyburn netminder. The Bruins held a 12-4 advantage on the shot clock after the first period.
“It’s our first league game against Weyburn and it’s the battle of Highway 39,” said Bruins co-coach Tim Miller. “Against Weyburn, we know they have some trouble scoring goals, so we knew if we could get on them early and score a couple quickly we could hopefully extend the lead, which we did.”
By the end of the second period the shot clock would read 28-12 and the score would be 7-1 Estevan on goals by Kaleb Poole, a second from Niven, two from Adrien Riddell and another marker from McMillen. Bruins’ forward Conner Gardiner drove home two in the third, which also saw Poole, McMillen, Keegan Merriman, Mason Kukura and Tayce Miller get on the board. At the end of 60 minutes, Estevan notched a 53-14 advantage on the shot clock to go along with their 14-1 victory. Bruins’ goaltender Jackson Miller picked up the W between the pipes.
McMillen, who also recorded four assists for a seven-point outing, said they worked harder than Weyburn in the game and that is why they were able to walk away with the win. He added reaching double digits on the scoreboard came from distributing the puck well and getting it to the net.
“We played the full 60 today,” said Miller. “It was evident with the score. It was nice to see. We had a rough little game yesterday (a 7-5 road victory over the Moose Jaw Warriors at Mosiac Place). We won, but today was start to finish. We just kept going, kept playing. We need to build off of that.”
The Bruins (6-4-1) will play their last away game of 12 straight to start off their 2015-16 South Saskatchewan Minor Hockey League season on Sunday against the Warriors at Bert Hunt Arena. The boys will then enjoy their first home date on Dec. 5 against the Warriors at Affinity Place.
“We’re really pleased,” said Miller about how the team has fared on the road. “The kids are coming along. The kids get along great. It’s all we can ask for.”
