The Power Dodge Estevan Bruins came out on the winning end of a rollercoaster game on Friday night, defeating the Battlefords North Stars 6-4 at Affinity Place.
After a four-game road trip last week, the Bruins roared out of the gate in front of their home fans scoring three goals in the first five minutes of the game.
Just 2:04 into action, Will Koop received the feed from Turner Ripplinger and sniped a perfect shot top corner to give Estevan the early lead. Bryce Platt also assisted on the play.
Two minutes later at 4:05, TJ Irey potted his 9th of the season to put the Bruins up 2-0. Tristyn Deroose and Jake Heerspink assisted on the goal.
And a minute later at 5:05, Platt extended the lead to 3-0 with Koop and Johnny Witzke adding helpers. The North Stars would call a timeout after that goal to settle their team down, and it would work as neither team would score for the rest of the period.
The Bruins continued to lead 3-0 until the final two minutes of the 2nd period, as Battlefords outshot the Bruins 17-8 in the middle frame and their pressure would pay off late.
At 18:25, Quintin Loon-Stewardson would beat Bruins goaltender Grant Boldt to make it 3-1. Then with only 2.2 seconds left in the period, Owen Lamb scored to make it 3-2 after two periods.
The North Stars would carry that momentum into the 3rd period, scoring two more quick goals to take the lead. On the powerplay, Lamb got his second of the game 47 seconds into the 3rd period to tie the game at 3-3. Then at the 3:08 mark, Logan Spence scored to give Battlefords a 4-3 lead.
But the Bruins would be able to grab control back before the end of the game and the late rally would start with Koop’s second goal of the game at the 8:48 mark to even the score at 4-4. Mike McChesney and Kade McMillen assisted on the goal.
Just two minutes later at 10:51, Aigne McGeady-Bruce let a shot go and it would be deflected perfectly in front by Tanner Manz between the legs of Joel Gryzbowski as the Bruins took the lead at 5-4. Tyson Manz also assisted on the go-ahead goal.
The North Stars would push for the equalizer late. But with the goalie pulled, the Bruins were able to break out of the zone with Platt chipping the puck out to Koop, who found McChesney behind the Battlefords defence in the neutral zone. McChesney potted the empty-netter to round out the scoring in a 6-4 victory for Estevan.
Grant Boldt (25/29) was solid in goal winning his third straight start at home. Gryzbowski (25/30) was tagged with the loss for Battlefords.
There was one fight in the game, as Bruins forward Turner Ripplinger dropped the mitts with Battlefords’ Elijah Loon-Stewardson. Estevan’s powerplay went 0/3 on the night, while Battlefords went 1/4 on the man advantage.
A total of 992 fans enjoyed Friday night’s game at Affinity Place. The Certified Energy 50/50 jackpot finished at $4,294.
Will Koop (2G,2A) Was Named The Game’s 1st Star For His Four-Point Night Against The Battlefords North Stars.
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