The Apex midget AA Bruins game Sunday against the Regina Capitals came with a lot of goals for the Bruins, even as injuries are starting to pile up a bit for the team.
The Bruins won 6-1 over the visiting Capitals at Affinity Place as the effort was there for a good 60 minutes for the club in their second win of the season.
There were moments in the game where it seemed like some of the Capitals had given up on the hockey aspect of the game to focus on hitting the Bruins legally and otherwise, but the Bruins for the most part didn’t fall into that kind of game.
“I thought we kind of rallied around each other,” said Bruins head coach Riley Hengen. “They took a couple of runs at us and the boys kind of took exception to that. We kind of came together as a group, stuck up for each other and played as a team.”
The Bruins and Capitals were tied 1-1 after the first on a tying goal from the stick of Dalton Schrader. He also scored in the second period to give the Bruins the lead and Estevan didn’t look back from that point. By the time Schrader scored the 5-1 goal in the third period, a pair of hats flew onto the ice.
“We were on a roll there, so we weren’t really thinking hat trick,” said Schrader, who leads the team with five goals in five games, while Chase Gedak leads the team in points with seven. “We were thinking team play, Smart plays in our end and it’s all about the win. It’s not about us individually. It’s all about the team.”
Joey Meredith, Trey Stovin and Cade Bentsen each scored singles for the Bruins in the game, as Zane Winter stopped 39 of 40 shots in the net for the win.
Capitals defenceman Max Kotyk took a five-minute major for a check from behind on affiliate player Kaden Chrest, called up from bantam AA, and while the Bruins weren’t happy about the hit they managed to get even on the scoreboard with a goal during the man advantage.
“It’s a constant reminder on the bench to the boys, ‘hey stay out of that’,” said Schrader. “They try to do something after the whistle, you skate away. It’s as simple as that. It’s their game they want to try to play. We have our game we want to play and that’s how we want to play. We want to make you play our game.”
The game was an effective bounce back game for the Bruins, who lost 2-1 in Weyburn the Wednesday night before.
“That was a disappointing one on Wednesday,” said Hengen. “You never know. We’re shorthanded and we’ve got quite a few APs in the lineup. But the 14 guys that we have came together (Sunday) and had a good effort.”
In that game, Schrader scored the Bruins’ only goal while Winter stopped 28 of 30 in the loss. Overall Sunday, the Bruins played close to the expectations the coaching staff has of the team.
“The injuries have taken their toll on us but we’re playing better positionally and we’re not running around as much as we were at the start of the year,” Hengen said. “It’s early and I think we’re just going to get better as time goes on.”
The Bruins have a pair of games coming in Melville against the Millionaires Saturday and Sunday. Their next home game is Nov. 4 against the Moose Jaw Warriors at Affinity Place.
