Seven talented young hockey players from the Estevan TS&M bantam AA Bruins have been selected to play in the SaskFirst tournament later this month.
Two defencemen were selected for the team: Alec Waldegger of Estevan and Colby Durr of Bromhead.
As for the forwards, Kaden Chrest and Mason Fichter of Estevan, Mason Kukura of Bienfait, Colby Cuddington of Manor and James Mann of Carievale have been chosen to participate.
The SaskFirst High Performance program kicked off the 2018-19 season during the weekend of Nov. 30-Dec. 2 with the male bantam regional camps. These camps were for all eligible players born in 2004. The two camps took place simultaneously, with one in the north and one in the south.
Nearly 300 players, over 50 officials and almost 30 coaches and evaluators participated in the two camps. Each year the regional camps serve as the initial stage of the SaskFirst High Performance Program.
Following the camps, the top 160 players were chosen for the Male Bantam SaskFirst Tournament to be held Dec. 28-30 in Regina.
Following the December tournament, the top 80 players will be selected and will return to compete in the February tournament in Saskatoon.
On the ice, the bantam AA Bruins saw their five-game winning streak come to an end with a pair of losses in the Regina area during the weekend.
The first defeat was an 8-5 loss to the Regina Aces on Saturday. Estevan was down 3-1 early in the second period, with Chrest scoring the Estevan goal, but then Kukura and Chrest scored before the middle period was finished to tie the game.
The two teams traded goals twice in the third period, with Mann scoring both of Estevan’s goals. The game was tied 5-5 with less than eight minutes to play in the third.
The Aces scored three times in the final seven minutes, with the last one coming into an empty net, to pull away.
Jackson Miller was in goal for the loss.
The following day, the bantam AAs dropped a 2-1 decision to the Prairie Storm in Balgonie. The Prairie Storm scored twice in the opening 11 minutes for all of the offence they needed.
Neither team scored in the second period. Mann notched a power play goal early in the third to pull Estevan to within a goal.
Joshua Bittman was in goal for the loss.
