The Estevan Bruins and Yorkton Terriers both found out on Saturday that 24 hours can make a big difference.
On Friday, Yorkton was rolling, crushing the Bruins 6-1 in their own barn and making the case for a sweep in a series that, according to the regular season standings, is a mismatch.
The next night, the tables were turned entirely, as the Bruins romped to an impressive victory of their own, shutting down the Terriers and making the case that maybe they're more than what the regular season says they are.
Oh, and by the way, Saturday's 5-2 win was the Bruins' first playoff victory outside of the survivor series since 2007.
Six years and not one single win after the survivor series.
That's an incredible mark of futility that the Bruins will try to put behind them in this series.
I was at both games on the weekend and it seemed that everything Yorkton did well on Friday, Estevan did on Saturday.
In Game 1, the Terriers got out to a strong start, showing no signs of rust whatsoever from their 11-day layoff. It didn't help the Bruins that goalie Curtis Martinu allowed two very weak goals in the first five minutes.
In Game 2, the Bruins scored on the first shift of the game and outplayed Yorkton for the rest of the first period.
On Friday, Yorkton scored timely goals that took away any momentum the Bruins might have had. In the first period, not long after the Bruins scored to make it 2-1 and began to generate some pressure for the first time in the game, the Terriers scored late in the period to take a two-goal lead after one.
Then they scored twice late in the second period to put it away for good.
On Saturday, when it was a one-goal game late in the second period, the Bruins scored twice in 13 seconds to take complete control of the game.
In the opener, Martinu struggled and, even though he settled down later in the game, those first two goals were a big blow to the Bruins.
In Game 2, Martinu stopped 25 of 27 shots and made some big saves to keep the Bruins on top.
It was a Jekyll and Hyde kind of season for the Bruins, and they were a Jekyll and Hyde team in the first two games.
The Bruins have shown that they can beat Yorkton. They did that in the regular season too, handing the Terriers their only regulation loss at home all year.
Whether they can do it consistently is another matter. The Terriers are an extremely deep team and they can beat you in a number of ways.
There's still a very steep hill to climb for the Bruins to pull off an upset in the series. But it certainly is possible.
Contact Josh Lewis at 634-2654 or [email protected]. So, has Kaspars Daugavins played ringette before?
