Bruins’ defenceman, Jag Taylor joined the 1st goal club Friday night in Kindersley, scoring his first in the SJHL – and the first of his junior career – in the opening period of the Bruins’ weekend back-to-back with the Kindersley Klippers.
Taylor’s tally made it 1-0 Estevan just over two minutes into the first period, scoring on a shot from the left point, set-up by billet brother, Odin George.
“It felt really good,” Taylor recalled with a smile postgame. “We had just controlled an O-zone draw and Odin, my roommate won it back to me, and I shot it. [I] couldn’t really see the goalie but it went in, so I was happy about that. I’ve been waiting for a while, playing parts of seasons with the Bruins since I was 16 now, so it feels good to finally score my first one as a Bruin.”
Immediately swarmed by his teammates, led by George, Taylor said it wasn’t until the celebration that he knew the goal was his.
“I didn’t really know it went in [cleanly] until the guys turned to me and told me, so it was awesome. It’s always a good feeling when you score, and especially your first junior goal.”
A 1-1 game at the end of the first, the Bruins and Klippers traded a pair of goals apiece in the second period to make it a 3-3 game heading into the third. Luke Hogan scored his third in three games and Kent Moors added his fifth in his last four, to set up a down to the wire finish.
A scoreless third period and overtime brought the teams to a shoutout to decide the game, where Kindersley’s Ethan Hilbig would score the winner in the fifth round. Both goaltenders shone bright, with the Bruins’ Kyle Kesley putting up an especially impressive performance. Just one game after stopping 47/50 in Humboldt, Kelsey made 48 saves through regulation and OT, then added another three stops in the shootout.
While the Klippers would ultimately take the win in the shootout, the Bruins did still pick up a valuable single point in the league standings, now sitting at 2-3-2 through seven games.
Taylor said he and his teammates are ready for a second crack at the Klippers Saturday night.
“I’m looking forward to it, it should be a good game, and when I got a penalty even the guy in the box said he was looking forward to the next game, so it should be fun.” Taylor said with a smile.
The Bruins’ rematch with the Klippers Saturday night in Kindersley will be available on FloHockey and on the Bruins’ NEW YouTube Livestream. The Room By Room Pregame Show will begin on the stream at 7:15 p.m., with puck drop to follow at 7:30 p.m.
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Marty Martinson/Estevan Bruins PxP & Marketing Director
On X: @MartyMartyPxP1