The Estevan Blue Rock midget junior A Bruins became the first Estevan team to win a championship at Spectra Place on March 27 when they defeated Weyburn 9-1 in Game 2 of the league final.

The victory gave the Bruins a two-game sweep of the Hockey Regina Midget Tier 2 15-year-old division final.

The midget team is comprised of all 15-year-olds.

Estevan had edged Weyburn 8-6 in Game 1 of the final on March 26.

The Bruins finished in sixth place in the regular season with a record of 11-12-3, but with help from some members of the bantam AA Bruins after that team was eliminated, as well as an increased focus on discipline, they stormed through the playoffs.

“The guys were extremely disciplined. We were the most penalized team in the league during the regular season, but we were more disciplined in the playoffs. Up until Weyburn, I think the most we had taken was two penalties in a game throughout the playoffs,” said Bruins head coach Matt Kuntz.

Weyburn finished fourth in the regular season.

In the deciding game, the Bruins built a 5-0 lead after two periods in a dominant showing.

Kaelan Holt and Regan Haukeness scored in the first period. Holt added two power play goals early in the second to finish a hat trick and Logan Hertes lit the lamp later in the period to make it 5-0.

Kyle Salaway increased the lead at 3:26 of the third, but Weyburn’s Logan Leslie got that one back about two minutes later.

Matthew Blanchette scored back-to-back goals to put the Bruins ahead 8-1 and Haukeness rounded out the scoring with his second of the night with 6:07 remaining.

Shots on goal were 27-26 for Weyburn, with Bruins goalie Tanner Tytlandsvik making 26 saves.
On the road to the final, the Bruins knocked off the third-place Regina Capitals in three games, including a 9-1 rout in Game 3.

They then dispatched of the first-place Regina Jets in two games in the semifinal.

“It seemed like all of our clutch games in the playoffs were blowouts,” Kuntz said, adding that the Capitals lost their composure in Game 3 of the quarter-final series.

“I’ve never seen such a good team break down like that. They completely lost their heads. They spent pretty much the entire third period in the penalty box.”