Penalty trouble and a lack of execution on the kill cost the Estevan TS&M bantam AA Bruins a win at Affinity Place on Sunday.
The Bruins (1-4-2) fell 5-2 to the Prairie Storm (2-1) despite controlling the play in the first period that resulted in a 1-0 lead off a tip from the top of the crease by Cody Davis five-hole on Storm goalie Jordan Muhr with 3:07 remaining in the frame. The Storm’s Trenton Curtis got that back a minute later breaking in on Bruins netminder Zane Winter and potting a marker backhand off a deke before Connor Giebel and Cal Caragata increased the lead to 3-1 before the period was out with two straight power-play goals.
“We got to be stronger on the puck,” said Bruins coach Tom Copeland. “They didn’t bring anything at us that we couldn’t defend. We just didn’t get the job done plain and simple. We got to be quicker, stronger, faster, all those things.”
The Bruins penalty trouble continued into the second period with Adrian Riddell taking a four-minute double-minor for head contact 4:15 in, but a strong clearing shot that bounced off the end boards and onto Bruins captain Cale Adams’ stick off a streak into the opposition zone helped the Black and Gold get back to within one while short handed. Both teams took turns pressing the play from then on with the Storm capturing the momentum in the third period leading to a Hunter Degelman insurance marker 12:33 in. Tyler Council finished the scoring on an empty netter with a little over a minute remaining.
“Our guys played pretty listless for a good portion of the game and I think that some of it is that we haven’t played enough, but other parts they sort of got a little bit complacent,” said Storm head coach Mike Dumelie. “We suffered a bit on the power play on our defensive side, so that is something we’ll be continuing to work on. But our goaltender played well today and our forwards played well and our (defence) were okay.”
Copeland said their weekend homestand, which included a 6-0 win over the Notre Dame Hounds (0-2) on Friday and a 2-2 tie versus the Prince Albert Venice House Pirates (2-2) on Saturday, is a step in the right direction, but they still should have beat the Storm. He said their players can compete with anybody and right now the goal is to make the kids realize that.
“If that means they have to sit on the bench or even potentially sit in the stands (then) that’s how you do it,” said Copeland. “You got to be accountable to the way you play this game.”
