The Estevan Bruins are officially heading to the playoffs, and they are still looking to continue their late-season push up the standings.
The Bruins won three of four games that they had in a five-night road trip through the ultra-tough Sherwood Division, which boasts four of the top six teams in the league.
The road trip didn’t begin well, with a 9-2 loss to the Melfort Mustangs on Feb. 17. Tanner Manz scored late in the first to leave Melfort up 2-1, but the Mustangs rattled off seven unanswered goals until Brady Nicholas scored late in the third.
Keenan Rancier stopped 31 shots in the loss.
The Bruins responded with a 6-5 shootout win over the La Ronge Ice Wolves the next night in a game that saw the teams trade goals throughout the night. Tyler Savage scored in each of the first and second periods, and Mason Strutt, Ryder Pierson and Jayden Davis also scored.
Eddie Gallagher and Tylor Ludwar had Estevan’s goals in the shootout.
Randy Cooke stopped 39 of the 44 shots he faced in regulation and overtime, and six of seven shots in the shootout.
The Bruins clinched the playoff berth the following night in a 5-4 overtime win over the Flin Flon Bombers. Isaiah Thomas’ third of the game 2:13 into extra time was the winner, and sent the Bruins to the playoffs.
“For a long time, within our group, we didn’t have any doubt that we were a playoff team,” said head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood. “It’s a matter now of building as much as we can and advancing as far as we can in the standings.”
Flin Flon led 1-0 after the first, but Erik Boers and Manz scored 26 seconds apart in the second for Estevan. Then Thomas had his first two of the game to put Estevan up 4-1 through two.
The Bombers tied the game with three goals in the final eight minutes of the third, setting the stage for Thomas’ heroics.
Cooke made 36 saves for another win.
“At this point, we feel that Randy’s really come into his own and become a competent backup and a guy that can beat any team in the league on any given night,” said Lewgood.
The road trip ended with a 6-5 win over the Nipawin Hawks on Feb. 22. Estevan led 2-0 after the first on goals by Gallagher and Pierson, and 5-3 through two after Cody Davis scored twice and Gallagher added his second of the game.
Savage scored in the third to give Estevan a 6-3 lead, but Nipawin tallied twice to make it interesting.
Rancier made 29 saves for the win.
The Bruins played the final 23 minutes with four defencemen, as Kersey Reich and Alex Von Sprecken were ejected after fights with Nipawin players late in the second.
The club also played without centres Manz and Caleb Petrie for much of the third due to penalties.
“It took a lot of courage for the guys to adjust the game plan in such a way that we could manage that and buy in and put the work in in general,” said Lewgood.
Lewgood was pleased with the players’ work ethic in the final three games of a daunting road trip.
“There was adversity but we kept playing and pushed hard.”
Estevan (29-22-3-1) sits seventh in the overall standings with 62 points, three ahead of the eighth place Humboldt Broncos. Both teams have three games remaining.
Estevan is also two points behind the Nipawin Hawks, with a game in hand on Nipawin.
The Bruins three-year reign as the Viterra Division champions came to an end, though, as the Yorkton Terriers clinched the division title with a win against the Kindersley Kippers on Feb. 21.
The Bruins will visit the Notre Dame Hounds on Feb. 26 in Wilcox. Then they have a home and home with the Weyburn Red Wings, as they will visit Weyburn on Feb. 28 and host Weyburn on Feb. 29. That game will start at 7:30 p.m.
