The Eagle Sky Estevan Bruins return to action tonight at Affinity Place, to host the two-time defending champion, Melfort Mustangs for a Saturday night face-off.
Marking the first of four games in the season series between the two sides, Bruins’ Head Coach and General Manager, Drew Kocur said the team is eager to get back in action coming off a week’s break following their Northern road swing through Nipawin and La Ronge last weekend.
“For us, we’re obviously excited about the challenge tonight,” Kocur said. “We had a nice little week off in preparation for Melfort, and with just the one game on the schedule [this weekend] everything we did this week was to prepare for them. We’ve got to be ready to go from puck drop and have a real good game tonight.”
The Bruins are coming off a thrilling 3-2 overtime win in La Ronge last Sunday, and enter play this evening third in the Bunge Division and eighth overall in the SJHL standings with a 3-3-2 record through eight games.
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Melfort enter play third in the UPL Division and sixth overall, with a 4-2-1 record through seven games. The team will be looking for a quick bounce-back from a 5-4 loss in Weyburn Friday.
Headlining the players to watch for Estevan are the veteran trio of Rylan Williams, Ewan Rennie, and Noah Asmundson.
Williams and Rennie connected for the OT winning goal last Sunday, and sit T-2nd (Williams with 13 points) and T-6th (Rennie with 11 points) in league scoring, heading into puck drop.
Asmundson has also been on fire of late, fresh off a two-goal performance in La Ronge, while having racked up four goals in his last four games.
Kocur spoke to the impact of all three, citing their hard work behind the scenes as a driving force of their success.
“Rennie and Willy just do so many good things, we talk about it all the time, but the biggest thing is that they work so hard in practice,” Kocur said. “When they’re your hardest-working guys in practice and do so many good things, it’s an easy transition for the games.”
“Azzy (Asmundson) is a guy that had to go away to the KI[JHL last year] at 19, and sometimes guys are late-bloomers. I’ve known Azzy for a lot of years and I’ve seen his development and progression. We kind of always knew he’d score goals and be an impact guy in this league, and he’s been getting better every day and taking it all in full-stride.”
The Mustangs counter with some marquee veterans of their own, led by captain Zayden Sadlemyer. Fresh off a three-point game (1G, 2A) a night ago in Weyburn, the product of Buena Vista, SK., leads the visitors with eight points (5G, 3A) in eight games this season.
In goal will be perhaps the best matchup of the night, as the Bruins will go back to starter Dylan Adams, while Melfort hands the reigns to Kason Kobelka.
Adams has been a stabilizing force in the Bruins goal this year, having made 40 or more saves in three of his first six starts. Kobelka leads all goaltenders with a 1.22 goals against average and .950 save percentage through his first five games between the pipes.
Tonight’s (Sat) game will be available on FloHockey, and for free on the Bruins YouTube Livestream. Pregame will begin at 6:45 p.m. with puck drop to follow at 7 p.m.
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Marty Martinson/Bruins PxP & Marketing Director
On X: @MartyMartyPxP1
