Don’t look now, but the Estevan TS&M Bruins have won four games in a row in the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League.
The Bruins (6-5-0-1) continued their winning ways with an 8-1 win at home Saturday over the West Central Wheat Kings (2-9-0-1) and a 4-2 win on the road Sunday over the Yorkton Terriers (0-10-0-1).
“We talked about it before the game (Saturday) that we’ve got to put more pucks on the net and that’s the only way we’re going to score,” said Bruins head coach Blaine Chrest.
They fired 48 shots at West Central’s goaltenders during the game and that helped them grab an early 3-0 lead on goals by Kaden Chrest and two from Mason Fichter.
“We had our heads in the whole game and started great right off the jump,” said Fichter. “We just escalated from there.”
Saturday, Fichter would end up completing his hat trick, while Boden Dukart added a pair with Kaden Chrest also scoring two goals in the game. James Mann got the other goal for the Bruins.
“It was nice to get eight against a northern team,” Blaine Chrest said. “Maybe we fit in better with the north.”
Regardless, it was a good idea to jump on a big early lead against the northern teams, which provide much stiffer competition on the whole than some of the southern teams.
“If you leave them in the game too long they’re going to come right back at you,” Fichter said.
It was also strong physical play from some of the bigger players on the Bruins that held from the first period through the last. Players like Blayze Siebert, Mann and Connor Hewitt were involved physically throughout the game.
“We know West Central’s a physical team as well and we match up well against them,” said Blaine Chrest. “It’s just nice we kept it clean and we didn’t take a penalty all night, until the end. We’re happy with the was the kids played, at least for 40 minutes.”
Dukart and a member of the Wheat Kings took coincidental double minors with no time left on the clock for a wrestling match but no Bruin was in the penalty box the entire game.
Blaine Chrest said they let up a little in the third, but the score was 7-1 after 40 minutes.
Sunday, the Terriers went up 2-1 in the first period despite an early goal from Colby Cuddington. Landon Marcotte’s marker tied it up in the second period and then Dukart and Cuddington’s second of the game, iced the win for the Bruins. Joshua Bittman stopped 18 of 20 shots in the win.
The Bruins’ next action is Friday at Notre Dame against the Hounds (1-9-0-2).
