The quality of opposition wasn’t the best they’ll see this year, but the Estevan midget AA Apex Bruins were still able to do what they needed to do to win a pair of games on the weekend, and then some.
The Bruins won 5-0 over the Regina Capitals (3-5-0-2) in Regina Friday and 11-1 over the Moose Jaw Warriors (1-8-0-0) Sunday at Affinity Place in Saskatchewan Midget AA Hockey League action.
The game against Moose Jaw was out of the realm of reasonable doubt early and it’s often not easy to make sure a team’s feet remain on the gas pedal throughout 60 minutes of hockey when it’s as one-sided as it was.
“We just tried to worry about ourselves,” said Bruins head coach Riley Hengen. “In a game like that you don’t want to pick up bad habits and get lazy. I thought the guys did a good job of staying disciplined and staying to their assignments. There wasn’t much else we could do, it was just one of those games.
The Bruins were up 4-1 after the first period and 6-1 after the second. The game fell apart for Moose Jaw even further as the goals piled up.
“We want to keep playing to our level,” said Hengen. “We don’t want to play below our skills and at the same time we don’t want to pick up any bad habits. We want to play our own game but maybe not as aggressive at times. We don’t want to let off the gas too much.”
Dalton Schrader scored four goals and two assists in the game, and Cale Adams, Tanner Stovin and Tayce Miller scored two each. Kieran Stewart scored the other goal, while Dylan Hull, Kelby Widenmaier and Chase Gedak picked up three assists each.
“I feel like our lines are all starting to click with each other and we’re all starting to build off each other’s play and it’s been going really good,” said Gedak.
Shots on goal were 38-13 in favour of Estevan, and Logan Nagel got the win in net.
Friday’s Bruin goals were scored by Miller, who had two, Widenmaier, Stewart and Hull. Zane Winter had his first career midget AA shutout in the game, but shots on goal were unavailable.
The Bruins’ next action is this weekend in the Kelly Dmyterko Memorial Tournament in Prince Albert – a tournament they won in 2016. They return to league action Nov. 23 with a home game against the Weyburn Wings.
