The Eagle Sky Estevan Bruins made their return to the playoffs in 2025-26, ultimately falling in a hard-fought four-game series with the Flin Flon Bombers as the eighth-seed in the #1 vs #8 first-round best-of-seven matchup.
GAME 1: Friday, Mar. 20| 5-0 FF
The Bombers came out flying in Game 1, flexing their offensive muscle en route to a 5-0 victory at the Whitney Forum to open the series.
A 40-save performance from Bruins’ goalie, Dylan Adams kept the game close early, but a pair of power play goals by Flin Flon defender, Sam Ward and a three-point night by Daniel Morozov (1G, 2A) would ultimately propel the Bombers to victory. SJHL Top Goaltender Award winner, Charlie Tritt stopped 17/17 to earn the shutout.
GAME 2: Saturday, Mar. 21| 4-3 (2OT) FF
Looking to bounce-back quickly in Game 2, the Bruins would respond with their best game of the series, led by an incredible 61-save performance by Nathan Kam, in a down-to-the-wire contest decided in double-OT.
Showing their persistence, the Bruins would respond goal-for-goal to tie the game 3-3 through regulation time. Matthew Ronn’s first of the post-season made it 1-1 at the end of the first period, followed by a Caleb Potter tally in the second to square the game, 2-2 through 40.
Ethan Andrews’ first of the playoffs then came in the final 1:06 with the net empty and extra-attacker on, to make it 3-3 and force OT.
Though both teams had their looks in the first overtime, the two sides remained deadlocked into the second OT period, when 1:45 in, Maverick Deslisle tipped home his first of the playoffs to bring the Whitney Forum crowd to their feet with the 4-3 Double-OT finish.
Asked about what was going through his head as the game went late into the night and the save count piled up, Kam said it was simply business as usual, staying focused on the next play throughout.
“As [the game] goes on, you don’t really think much, you just kind of play and are ready for anything,” Kam said of the performance. “You just have to kind of forget about anything else and stay focused.”
He said heading into Game 2, it’s about building on the effort and continuing to get better. “We just have to go out there and play hard and just stick to what we can do and see where that can take us,” Kam said.
GAME 3: Tuesday, Mar. 24| 4-2 FF
As the series shifted to Estevan for Game 3, the Bruins would again take the Bombers late into the game to determine a winner.
Carter Onrait’s first of the playoffs knotted the score 1-1 early in the second, converting on an incredible highlight-reel solo rush to WOW the Affinity Place crowd.
After Joey Lies put the Bombers back ahead at 2-1 in his first game of the series off injury, Cash Olson would then re-establish the tie, bringing the crowd to their feet with a tremendous breakaway tally of his own to make it 2-2 into the third.
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Midway through the third, Leo Seitz would put the Bombers ahead for good on a heads-up play to stall a partial odd-man rush and snap home his first of the playoffs; followed by Connor Millers’ second in as many nights to seal the victory at 4-2 late with an empty-netter.
Following the game, Onrait recounted what he saw on the play that led to his highlight-reel goal.
“Rorey [Elson] made a good block and poked it ahead and I knew there was going to be a penalty called, but I saw a chance to grab the puck and [attack] one-on-one,” Onrait recalled. “I went to my left – saw his feet turn – then went back to my right and used my body to protect the puck while I put it over Tritt’s shoulder. It was very exciting,” he added with a smile.”
GAME 4: Wednesday, Mar. 25| 2-0 FF
The final game of the series came Wednesday night, in a 2-0 Game 4 win for the Bombers, to take the series in four-straight.
Another close game throughout, despite the loss, the Bruins again hung around in a scoreless game through the first, before back-to-back strikes by Jared Miskiw and Connor Miller just four minutes apart in the second gave the Bombers the difference on the night.
Rookie goaltender, Finn Werner stopped all 26 Bruins’ shots to earn his first SJHL playoff shutout, and punch the Bombers’ ticket to the semi-finals of the playoffs.
Bruins’ defenceman, Matthew Ronn was awarded the Days Inn Playoff MVP Award, for his efforts in the series, scoring a pair of points (1G, 1A) in the four games while playing big minutes in all situations for the team.
Despite the first-round loss, the Bruins saw a marked improvement from even a season ago in 2025-26. Their 26-25-5 record through the regular season served as an eight-win improvement from the year prior, while giving fans a return to the playoffs for the first time since 2023-24.
The Bruins’ 57 points at the end of the regular season were also a 14-point improvement from last season, and the most by the organization since the 2022-23 season (61 points).
Stay tuned to the Bruins’ social media channels and website in the coming days for more end-of-season content including 20-year-old reflections.
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Marty Martinson/Bruins PxP & Marketing Director
On X: @MartyMartyPxP1
