The TS&M Estevan Bruins bantam AA hockey team are taking their two points from two tie games on a tough northern road trip over the weekend and moving on.
The Bruins began the trip with 4-4 tie on Saturday night at Battleford Arena against the Barons (1-0-1) before heading to Kindersley the next afternoon where the club ground out a 2-2 tie with the West Central Wheat Kings (1-2-1) at the West Central Events Centre. Estevan outshot both teams, but Bruins head coach Tom Copeland said they didn't control the majority of the play in either test.
The Bruins went up early on the Barons thanks to three quick strikes by Mason Strutt, but Battlefords battled back to bring the score within one. A little over a minute into the third period, Barons forward Skylar Olson scored his second of the game to tie the match at threes. Estevan's Dalton Schrader potted his first four minutes later, but the Battlefords Landon Buziak replied with just over seven minutes remaining to tie the game again.
“Battleford, they were a big team and there were times they were taking it to us,” said Copeland. “We're not the biggest club in the world and they were taking it to us physically and they scored a couple clutch goals.”
In Kindersley, the Bruins came out strong against the Wheat Kings and were up 2-0 after 40 minutes on the strength of Strutt's seventh goal of the season and Cody Davis' first. However, the score doesn't reflect the play on the ice as Estevan found it's way to the penalty box regularly in the second frame and were subsequently outshot 13-5. The Wheat Kings finally found the back of the net in the third when Casey McDonald and Tye Scherger beat Bruins goaltender Bryson Garton in the final ten minutes of the game.
“The North Division is tough this year and especially when you're travelling there,” he said. “We were in the bus for probably 15, 16 hours this weekend, so that is a lot for the kids. I think they did okay. For most of them they've never been on a road trip like that, so it was a learning experience all on it's own.”
Copeland said the coaching staff is pleased with their 1-0-2 record this season, mainly because they were able to upset a strong Yorkton Terriers team Sept. 27 in their first game of the year. He said they probably deserved a better fate in their two games this weekend, but at the end of the day wins come down to who scores the most and they didn't do that on the road trip.
“Early on we're getting fantastic goaltending, which is bailing us out at times,” said Copeland about Garton and Morgan Wanner. “We're a younger team...and we only brought back four guys, so they're still learning to play at this level of hockey. So overall we're happy with their attitude and where they're at. They work hard and they're trying to learn. If we can come out of those games with points early on when they're still trying to learn, well those are positives.”
The Bruins' next test is Saturday afternoon at Affinity Place against the Regina Pat Blues (0-1-1). Copeland said they'll be using the game as another opportunity to get the kids to play the systems they are being taught regardless of what their opponent brings to the ice.
“We don't spend a lot of time matching lines or anything like that,” he said. “For the most part, we're just trying to teach these kids how we want to play and what kind of system we want to play. Once we get there I think we'll be competitive with every team in the league.”
