Seven was a big number for the Power Dodge Estevan Bruins on Saturday night.
The Bruins defeated the Weyburn Red Wings 7-2 at Affinity Place; it was the second straight game in which they scored seven goals against their Highway 39 rivals. And it was the Bruins seventh straight win.
Bryce Platt scored 5:18 into the first period to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead, and Michael McChesney doubled the advantage 74 seconds later.
Jordan Kazymyra scored for Weyburn with about five minutes to play in the first, but Turner Ripplinger would respond for the Bruins before the period was finished.
McChesney scored his second of the game in the middle frame to give the Bruins a three-goal lead, and Jayden Davis added a short-handed goal just over two minutes later to pad the advantage. Johnny Witzke’s power-play goal with six minutes to play in the period was not only the Bruins sixth goal, but it chased Ben Laidlaw from the Weyburn goal; Laidlaw stopped 28 of 34 shots on the night.
Tyler Leibl scored a power play goal for Weyburn late in the second to make it a 6-2 game. The Red Wings had a two-man advantage for 80 seconds at the end of the period, and a lengthy power play to start the third after Tristyn DeRoose was assessed a two-minute instigator penalty and a five-minute fighting major in the second, but the Red Wings rarely threatened on the power play.
Moments after DeRoose’s penalties ended, Eddie Gallagher scored for the Bruins to round out the scoring.
Kadin Kilpatrick stopped 12 of 14 shots he faced for the win. Midget call-up Tyler Szturm came on in relief in the third, and stopped all six shots he faced.
Cody Levesque stopped 14 of 15 shots after coming on in relief for Weyburn.
McChesney said the club has been working hard and using their combination of size and speed to their advantage in recent weeks.
“We’re one step better than we were at the beginning of the year, and it’s showing,” said McChesney.
The Bruins (25-20-2-1) now have a four-point lead on the Yorkton Terriers (24-22-1) for top spot in the Viterra Division. The two teams will meet Tuesday night in Yorkton in what will be a pivotal game for both teams.
