The Eagle Sky Estevan Bruins play host to the division rival, Melville Millionaires Friday, to kick-off a weekend home-and-home in a high-stakes late-season race for playoff security.
The Numbers
The two sides enter the weekend series separated by just a single point in the SJHL standings, in the midst of an all-out four-team battle for the final two playoff spots.
The Bruins (25-22-4 through 51 games) enter their final five games of the regular season in the eighth and final playoff spot, just three points up on Kindersley (9th) and four-up on Humboldt (10th), while sitting just a single back of Melville. The Millionaires (23-19-9 through 51 games) enter their final five games in 7th, just one point up on the Bruins, and four and five points up on Kindersley and Humboldt.
The Bruins are coming off back-to-back wins over Battlefords (4-3) and Melville (7-2) last weekend, as they look to stay hot in search of a third straight. The Millionaires are fresh off a 4-0 victory earlier in the week against Warman.
Bruins’ Head Coach and G.M., Drew Kocur said it’s a huge opportunity to go head-to-head with a team they are directly competing against for playoff seeding at this stage of the season.
“This weekend’s huge, so we’re excited for tonight’s game and for tomorrow,” Kocur said. “For us, we’ve looked at this series as kind of a mini playoff series. Obviously there’s a lot of playoff implications on the line for both teams so it’s a big weekend for us. We’ve really liked our play over the last five or six games and tonight we want to make sure we start off on the right foot and take care of business on home ice.”
This weekend’s home-and-home will mark the seventh and eighth meetings of the season series between the two sides. Neck-and-neck so far, the Bruins and Mills have split the first six, with three wins apiece and three of the six being decided by two or fewer goals.
Players to Watch
Six different Bruins are coming off multi-point games in the club’s 7-2 win against the Millionaires last Saturday. Nathaniel Harvey (who had 1G, 2A) and Matthew Ronn (1G, 1A) are amongst the players to watch heading into this weekend, as Harvey has scored in back-to-back games heading into play, with nine points (3G, 6A) in his last 10 games dating back to the start of February.
Ronn has also been playing his best hockey of the season down the stretch, having registered eight points (3G, 5A) in 10 games last month from the blue line position while playing big minutes in all situations, to earn Domino’s Estevan Player of the Month distinction with the team.
Big picture, Ewan Rennie (who is coming off a two assist effort) is battling it out with Yorkton’s Gabriel Courchesne in what looks destined to be a photo-finish for the league scoring title. Rennie’s 72 points (35G, 37A) are just two back of Courchesne’s 74 (30G, 44A) for tops in the SJHL, with his 1.50 P/G (Rennie) just ahead of his counterpart’s 1.42 (Courchesne) for best in the league.
Rennie’s line is likely to see a lot of Melville’s top defensive pairing of Boston Harkness and Wesley Golden. Two of the top matchup defencemen in the league, both Harkness (6’3, 209) and Golden (6’5, 207) are big, strong defenders who move up and down ice quickly and will be instrumental in the Millionaires’ ability to limit the Bruins’ offensive exploits.
Harkness is also a key cog offensively for Melville, coming off a two assist game versus Warman Tuesday. His 44 points (9G, 35A) are second on the Millionaires, and just a single back of the league-leading total amongst defencemen.
Special teams
PP: EST: 20.3% (6th) | MLV: 17.1% (8th)
PK: EST: 80.9% (9th) | MLV: 77.1% (11th)
Goaltending
Friday is expected to feature two of the top goaltenders in the league facing off between the pipes.
Dylan Adams will get the start for the Bruins. Despite an 11-14-3 record in 31 games this season, Adams has been a tower of strength in the Bruins’ goal with a 3.07 goals against average and .915 save percentage. His .915 is fourth amongst all workhorse goaltenders with at least 30 games played.
Melville’s Matthew Spencer-Dahl is likely to make his eighth straight start. Fresh off his third shutout of the season on Tuesday (stopping 21/21 vs Warman), Dahl is 10-6-2 on the year in 19 games, with a 2.57 goals against average and .918 save percentage.
Broadcast/Game Info
Both Friday and Saturday’s games will be available on FloHockey and for free on the Estevan Bruins 2.0 YouTube Livestream. Pregame will begin at 6:45 p.m. with puck drop to follow at 7 p.m.
Those attending Friday night’s game at Affinity Place should get ready to ROCK THE RINK, as local punk-rock band, the Sad Dads will be performing at the intermissions and post-game.
Also IMPORTANT NOTE FOR FANS, ages 15U will be granted FREE ADMISSION for Friday’s game at Affinity Place. Bring the whole family out and let’s ROCK THE RINK to bring in the weekend!
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN LIVE ON THE BRUINS LIVESTREAM
—
Marty Martinson/Bruins PxP & Marketing Director
On X: @MartyMartyPxP1
