The Eagle Sky Estevan Bruins are coming off an excellent weekend road swing, that saw the team secure four of a possible six points on their three-games in three-nights trek through the league’s Nutrien Division.
Friday
The Bruins opened the weekend with a strong showing in the Battlefords, despite a 5-3 loss. Dylan Adams made 41 saves between the pipes, while Nathaniel Harvey, Rorey Elson and Ewan Rennie chipped in goals on the night.
A fast-paced, high-event game throughout, the goaltenders – Adams and Steele Bass for the North Stars – stole the show early with a Battlefords’ power play tally serving as the lone goal through the opening period despite the teams combining for 35 shots through the first 20 minutes (18-17 EST).
In the second the Battlefords would extend their lead, scoring three more, though Harvey’s seventh of the year (and seventh in his last six games) did get the Bruins on the board in a 4-1 game through 40.
Despite a pair of goals early in the third by Elson and Rennie, the Stars would hold strong down the stretch for the 5-3 final, with both teams on the brink of 50 shots by night’s end (48-46 EST).
Saturday
The Bruins would bounce-back quickly the following night, with a 3-1 win in their first-ever game in Warman.
This time, Nathan Kam was the standout, stopping 30/31 against a desperate Wolverines’ team.
Oliver Kramp scored his third of the year midway through the first period on a rebound conversion in front to give the team a 1-0 lead at the intermission. After Warman tied it on a goal by Carter Bergen early in the second, Matthew Ronn would re-establish the lead at 2-1 with his first of the season. Ronn’s goal came off a wrister from the left point with under five minutes to go in the frame.
In the third, Rennie’s then league-leading 21st of the season solidified the victory for the team, putting an end to the Wolverines’ surge for the tying marker.
Sunday
Wrapping up the trip Sunday afternoon with a 4 p.m. start in Humboldt, the Bruins brought their best game of the weekend against the Broncos, despite the quick turnaround.
Another hard-fought, high-intensity battle, Adams again took centre-stage in this one, stopping all 48 shots he faced to earn his first SJHL shutout in a show-stopping performance.
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A goaltenders’ dual throughout the night, Adams and Humboldt’s Charlie Tritt went save-for-save through 40 minutes of play as the teams remained scoreless into the third period, despite firing a combined 67 shots (36-31 HUM) through two periods.
In the third, timely goals by Elson and Getzlaff in quick-succession would put the B’s ahead for good, shutting out the Broncos on their Teddy Bear Toss Night.
Elson’s second of the weekend, and fourth of the season came off a bang-bang play with the captain charging hard to the front of the net. Getzlaff’s was then a determined effort to win a race and drive hard to the net as well for the insurance marker.
Following the final horn, Bruins’ teammates swarmed Adams to celebrate his shutout milestone.
“It was just awesome,” Adams said of the moment postgame. “Our group is so tight and it’s just so great that the boys are so supportive of everyone. We’re such a tight group, it’s just been awesome so far this season.”
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Adams was also quick to shine a light on the group’s effort collectively, on the final night of a grueling weekend trip.
“The boys played really good in front of me, and I saw basically every shot… then on the high-danger chances I just competed as hard as I could and got a little bit lucky too,” Adams said, again flashing a smile. “It was awesome, this three-in-three was obviously a grind, but I’m just so proud of the boys that we got two-out-of-three and are coming home with two wins.”
With their weekend success, the Bruins are now 16-8-3 this season through 27 games. With 35 points, the team now sits just a single point back of Weyburn for top spot in the Bunge Division and two back of Flin Flon for first overall.
The Bruins were initially supposed to return to play Tuesday night in Yorkton, but the game was postponed due to poor driving conditions. Instead the team will return to action Friday night at Affinity Place to kick-off a weekend back-to-back with the division rival, Melville Millionaires.
Both games this weekend will be a 7 p.m. start, and will be available on FloHockey and for free on the Bruins’ YouTube Livestream. Pregame both nights will begin at 6:45 p.m.
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Marty Martinson/Bruins PxP & Marketing Director
On X: @MartyMartyPxP1
