The Estevan bantam AA TS&M Bruins hockey team is entering a definite four games in four days schedule with the possibility a few more being added on due to good play.
The Bruins start the Grand Tour Invitational bantam AA Showcase in Regina this Thursday with two round-robin games on tap for the first day, one more scheduled for Friday and a final one coming Saturday morning. The team’s goal is to do as well as possible in these games to finish first in their pool or gain a wild card spot for playoff action Saturday and Sunday.
Tom Copeland, head coach of the Bruins, said the Oct. 29 to Nov. 1 Showcase will feature 24 teams from bantam leagues in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta. He said each player and team is there to show off their skills before a bevy of scouts mostly working for Western Hockey League teams.
“Our pool is going to be tough, but it’s also winnable,” said Copeland. “We’re going there with higher expectations than we’ve gone there in a couple years and we’re going there to win that tournament or at least compete for it. It’s a tough weekend and if you take a period off or two periods off you could basically be done for the rest of the weekend. We’re excited for it.”
The Bruins enter the tournament off a 7-5 win over the Swift Current Raiders at Fairview West on Friday and 2-2 tie against the Moose Jaw Warriors at Bert Hunt Arena on Saturday. At the start of the Showcase, Estevan sits second in the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League’s South Division standings with a 5-2-3 record.
Copeland said they’ve earned that record and could easily be sitting at 8-2 right now. He said the team was up in each one of those ties, but didn’t do what it takes to finish teams off.
“That’s just a function of a young team,” he said. “As we learn to win those games we’re only going to be more successful. We’ve got a tough stretch coming. We’re going to play all the next 10 games minus one within our division. These next 10 games will go a long way to tell the story of where we’re going to finish.”
