Let's get one thing straight: there were no goals in the first 44 minutes of last night's game in Yorkton, and it was great.
Despite the Estevan Bruins and Yorkton Terriers being locked in a scoreless tie after two periods in Game 3, there were great chances at both ends, some massive saves, and more tension than you can shake a stick at.
Patrick Martens finally broke the deadlock 3:48 into the third period, and he would add the eventual winner later in the frame to continue a great series that has seen him score four goals.
Martens' first goal came on a rush down the right side. He found a small hole and slipped a wrister through it to put the T-Dogs ahead 1-0.
Then, just as the Bruins were creating some good chances to tie the game, Martens struck again at 14:11. There was a turnover at the Bruins' blueline as a pass attempt hit a body in the neutral zone. Martens chased the puck back into the zone, Tyler Kauk couldn't catch up and Martens made no mistake on the shot.
The Bruins did manage to get one back. With 56 seconds left, Tanner Froese tipped a Connor Milligan point shot past Dawson MacAuley.
Estevan then called a timeout with 30 seconds left, but they didn't get any good opportunities after that, as the puck got tied up behind the Yorkton net in the dying moments of the game.
The final shots were recorded as 40-21 for Yorkton. That doesn't really reflect the play in my opinion; the Terriers did have a slight edge in scoring chances and general possession, but it was a pretty even contest. The Bruins were only credited with three shots in the second period, but I'd wager it was more like seven or eight. Not that it matters in the end.
This is the kind of loss that's tough to swallow, considering the game was scoreless for so long and it was right there for the taking. To me, it felt like overtime was coming as soon as midway through the second.
There are some positives for the Bruins to take out of it. For starters, the Terriers only lost twice at home all season and the Bruins were right with them all game. Obviously that isn't enough, and they need to win a game in Yorkton to win the series, but it was a huge improvement from the Game 1 shellacking.
Second, Curtis Martinu played his best game of the playoffs. Yes, he scrambled a lot and spent almost as much time in the white paint as the blue, but he made the saves. There were some simply incredible stops. One came on a lunging stick save when he was caught out of the net. Another was when he robbed Nathan Murray with a glove save early in the third. He also made a big stop on Curtis Oliver in the second on a point-blank shot.
If Martinu continues to play like he did last night (while minimizing the scrambling around a bit), the Bruins still have a real chance.
Game 4 goes tomorrow night at Spectra Place.
