The Estevan Bruins are looking forward to the start of the 2020-21 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, and some new competition.
The Bruins defeated the Weyburn Red Wings 6-4 Saturday night to wrap up the preseason portion of their schedule, which they finished with a 3-1 record. All four games were against the Red Wings.
After sweeping the Wings in games on Oct. 23 and 24, the Bruins dropped a 5-2 decision in Weyburn on Oct. 30. Weyburn led 3-0 after the first period and 4-0 through two; Cody Davis and Kade McMillen scored in the third for Estevan.
Emerik Demers was in goal for Estevan.
Saturday’s game saw the two teams tied at 4-4 after two periods, with Cole Fonstad, Troy Hamilton, Davis and McMillen scoring for Estevan.
Quintin Loon-Stewardson’s goal seven seconds into the third period gave Estevan the lead, and Devan Harrison tallied 6:51 into the final frame for a two-goal cushion.
Eric Clark picked up the win in goal.
Loon-Stewardson was playing with the Bruins for the first this past weekend, after being acquired from the B.C. Hockey League’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs for a player development fee. But he’s no stranger to Saskatchewan, as he spent the last two seasons with the Battlefords North Stars, winning a league title in 2019 and scoring 30 goals during the 2019-20 season.
“I’m really happy to be coming to a prized organization like the Bruins. You can just tell, walking throughout the arena, that it’s a privilege to throw on the B’s jersey and skate with the Bruins.”
He noted he played with McMillen at an SJHL Showcase back in January.
“I’ve played against probably three-quarters of the team, and it’s always fun when you’re switching that up and joining the same teams as them, because they don’t know what you’re about. They know what your playing style is about but they don’t know what your … personality is about.”
He’s glad to be back in Saskatchewan, and he hopes his play here can help him advance to the next level in the game.
Estevan will open the 2020-21 regular season Friday night at the Melville Millionaires, and then host Melville the following night, starting at 7:30 p.m.
Head coach and general manager Jason Tatarnic said the players are looking forward to a new opponent. They were involved in an extended training camp that started Sept. 9, and then they had the four preseason games with Weyburn.
Several players who didn’t skate against Weyburn will be in the lineup against Melville, and some who played this weekend won’t be in the lineup against the Mills, most notably defenceman Austin King-Cunningham, who has two games remaining on a suspension, stemming from an incident last season.
Tatarnic said it was good to play Weyburn four times in the preseason because there was some added intensity for the games.
“There were some hard plays and some emotions running high out there, so that’s good to see,” said Tatarnic.
It also helped some of the new players see what it takes to be a junior hockey player.
Teams are scheduled to play a 50-game regular season, down from the usual 58, with each team having 25 home games.
Estevan will be placed in a six-team south group that also includes Weyburn, Melville, Notre Dame Hounds, Yorkton Terriers and Humboldt Broncos. Estevan will play these teams in home-and-home series before the Christmas break, with the vast majority of the games occurring on Friday and Saturday nights.
Games against the six northern teams are scheduled to begin in January.
The Bruins learned on Monday that they would only be allowed to have 150 fans for their home games to start the regular season.
In a message sent out to supporters, the Bruins said the current attendance cap was mandated by the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the Ministry of Health, which advised the SJHL that the cap will be reviewed again prior to the start of Week 2 of the regular season.
“We are disappointed that the SJHL’s proposal to begin the season at a higher cap, subject to observing social distancing and other health and safety protocols, was not approved. That would have enabled us to accommodate all of our season ticket holders, which stand at about 600. This had been the communication to our teams until November 1st, and now each team will be adjusting to the new attendance cap.”
The 150 spectators would be equivalent to about six per cent capacity at Affinity Place.
The Bruins will now have to completely re-evaluate their plan for season ticket holders this season. They ask for patience while they resolve this situation.
