The Estevan Bruins were down 5-1 to the Kindersley Klippers with less than two minutes to play in the second period in their game Tuesday afternoon at the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Showcase in Warman.
Then they rattled off four unanswered goals to tie the game, and force extra time.
Ultimately they came up short, dropping a 6-5 shootout decision.
The Klippers jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on goals by Dawson McKenzie and Kyle Bosch in the opening 8:41 of the game. Five seconds after Bosch’s goal, Devon Cyr scored to pull the Bruins within one.
Kindersley restored the two-goal advantage at the 11:19 mark of the frame when Austin Nault scored.
Dawson McKenzie notched his second of the game nine minutes into the second to give the Klippers a 4-1 lead, and chase Randy Cooke from the Bruins net. He stopped 16 of the 20 shots he faced.
Scott McKenzie then scored on Keenan Rancier a few minutes later for the four-goal cushion.
Tanner Manz’s power play goal with 33 seconds left in the second period gave the Bruins some life, and then he added his second of the game 70 seconds into the third to pull the Bruins to within two.
Kade McMillen’s four-on-four marker six minutes into the third made it a one-goal game, and Brady Nicholas scored right after a Kindersley penalty expired at the 11:18 mark to tie the game.
The Bruins had chances to score the winner, including a four-minute power play late in the third and a man advantage for the final 66 seconds of overtime, but couldn’t beat Klippers goalie Matthew Pesenti, who made 43 saves in the game.
The game went to a shootout, with Nault scoring for Kindersley in the second round and Tyler Savage tallying for the Bruins in Round 3 to keep the penalty shot contest going. It remained tied until the seventh round, when Bosch scored for the Klippers.
Rancier stopped eight of the nine shots he faced in regulation and overtime.
The Bruins won’t play again until Oct. 4, when they host the Battlefords North Stars. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
