It was a tough weekend for the Estevan Bruins, as they dropped a pair of games on home ice.
The Bruins lost 5-4 to the Melfort Mustangs on Friday night and 5-1 to the Kindersley Klippers on Saturday.
Estevan held a 2-0 lead after the first period against Melfort on goals by Isaiah Thomas and Jayden Davis. Thomas’ goal came 22 seconds into the first period.
Melfort tied the game in the second on goals by Zach Anderson and Zack Smith, and took the lead when Ryley Lanthier and Tyson Meyers scored 36 seconds apart late in the middle frame.
CJ Corazzin scored early in the third to pull the Bruins to within one. Anderson’s second goal of the game with 5 1/2 minutes to play in the third restored the two-goal advantage. Tanner Manz rounded out the scoring with a power play goal with 1:43 remaining in the game.
Keenan Rancier stopped 27 of the 32 shots he faced.
“I thought we were strong in that game, and we played pretty well, but we shot ourselves in the foot with a soft second period,” said Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood.
Kindersley raced out to a 3-0 lead on goals by Scott McKenzie, Sean Michalevich and Dane Hirst in the opening 11:22 of the game. Tyler Traptow and Dawson McKenzie scored 22 seconds apart midway through the second period for a five-goal advantage.
Cody Davis notched the Bruins lone goal with 3:35 to play in the third period. Klippers goaltender Zach Johnson stopped 48 of the 49 shots he faced, including 15 in the second and 22 in the third.
“We probably matched them in quality scoring chances and exceeded them in shots, but two things: they were able to take advantage of their opportunities better than we were, and we made too many mistakes that were significant,” said Lewgood.
Rancier made 27 saves for the second straight night.
Lewgood said the effort level and the work ethic were there on the weekend, except for the second period against Melfort.
“You can compete and challenge the other team, but if you’re doing it away from the game plan, and not everybody’s on the same page, it’s detrimental to the outcome,” said Lewgood.
Up next for the Bruins is a home and home against Weyburn. They will visit Weyburn on Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m., and host the Red Wings the following night at Affinity Place.
Lewgood is looking forward to the games. The Bruins are a better team than they were when they lost 2-0 to Weyburn in the season opener, he said, but the Red Wings are a better team, too.
“Despite being shut out and beaten in that game, we thought we were really good. We know that they’re going to be a much stronger team.”
