Bruins Fall 2-1 To La Ronge On ‘First Responders Appreciation Night’

The Power Dodge Estevan Bruins were unable to get back in the win column on Wednesday night as they fell by a 2-1 score to the La Ronge Ice Wolves at Affinity Place.

The Bruins honoured the community’s First Responders before the game, with a ceremonial puck drop including members from the Estevan Police Service, Estevan Fire Rescue, Estevan EMS, and Estevan/Carlyle RCMP. As well, over 100 first responders and their families were given free admission for the night.

The the action started, with both defences standing strong in a scoreless 1st period. Grant Boldt started in net for Estevan, making his second start and first one at home in Affinity Place.

The tight checking continued into the 2nd period until the visiting Ice Wolves broke the deadlock. Jordan Mish beat Boldt on a scramble in front to make it 1-0 at the 12:04 mark of the 2nd period.

That remained the score until late in the 3rd period when the Bruins finally found the equalizer. A great breakout in the neutral zone saw new Bruin forward Bryce Platt come down the middle with speed. Platt let a snapshot go that beat La Ronge netminder Chad Duran for Platt’s first goal with the Black-and-Gold to tie the score at 1-1 at 12:04 of the 3rd period. Turner Ripplinger and Johnny Witzke assisted on the play.

But the Bruins’ tough luck of late would continue as La Ronge forward Max Kleiner scored with less than three minutes remaining to put the Ice Wolves back on top 2-1. The Bruins would pull the goalie late, but would be unable to even the score before the buzzer, dropping their 4th straight game in a row.

Boldt stopped 21/23 shots for the Bruins and was tagged with the loss, while Duran made 32/33 saves for La Ronge. Both teams were shutout on the powerplay, with Estevan going 0/3 and La Ronge 0/4. Bruin forward Michael McChesney served the first of a four game suspension on Wednesday.

Announced attendance for the game was 960 people and the Certified Energy 50/50 jackpot totalled $3,905.

The Bruins (4-6) will look to turn their fortunes around on the weekend, as they host La Ronge (3-6) in a rematch on Saturday night at 7:30 and the Flin Flon Bombers (5-4-1) at 6:00 on Sunday evening.