In two days, the Estevan Bruins will kick off their playoff run against the Notre Dame Hounds. It's a series many expect the Bruins to win, after they finished 11 points ahead of the Hounds. But Notre Dame played pretty well down the stretch, winning five in a row earlier this month, and there's no reason to believe they won't present a stiff challenge.

Here's what Keith Cassidy had to say about the matchup:



Here's a look at the teams by the numbers:

Records
Estevan: 28-28-0-2, 58 points
Notre Dame: 22-33-0-3, 47 points

Goal differential
Estevan: 208 for (4th), 211 against (8th)
Notre Dame: 172 for (10th), 233 against (10th)

Special teams
Estevan: PP 23.9% (1st), PK 82.8% (3rd)
Notre Dame: PP 19.4% (T-5th), PK 78.6% (10th)

Top scorers
Estevan: Dylan Smith (37-37-74), Calder Neufeld (34-33-67), Cole Olson (17-39-56), Taylor Reich (14-18-32), Tyler Paslawski (11-20-31).
Notre Dame: Todd Christian (25-32-57), Brandon Millin (21-22-43), Greg Ferguson (19-23-42), Carson Grolla (16-25-41), Ben Morgan (18-18-36).

Starting goalies
Estevan: Steven Glass (13-13-1, .899, 3.49)
Notre Dame: Ty Reichenbach (13-19-3, .880, 3.78)

Meanwhile, Cassidy was announced yesterday as a finalist for the SJHL Coach of the Year award, along with Kevin Hasselberg (North Stars), Doug Johnson (Hawks) and Dean Brockman (Broncos).

The Bruins also announced their team nominees for the SJHL's year-end awards: Tyler Kauk (top rookie), Connor Milligan (top D), Dylan Smith (player of the year), Josh Jelinski (team MVP) and Steven Glass (top goalie).