The midget AA Apex Bruins had their run at a provincial title end earlier than they hoped last Thursday.
The Bruins lost both their games versus the Notre Dame Argos, in a two-game, total-goals series. Game one on the road put the Bruins in a bit of a hole, as they lost 3-1 on Feb. 23.
Playing at the Civic Feb. 24, the Bruins would have to win by two to force a tie, and three to win outright.
Coach Tome Copeland said, "We approached it like any other game. If you're going to win a game, quite often you're going to win by one or two goals, so really we were trying to chase down the win. We thought if we could win, we could win by two, and then if it went into overtime, well we'd take our chances."
But things got off to a shaky start in the first period.
The Argos opened the scoring less than three minutes in and for every goal scored by the opponent the Bruins knew they would have to top that mark by two.
Brody Connelly kept pace for the Bruins early, scoring six minutes into the first, with helpers from Jake McMillen and Rhett Handley.
The Argos answered back immediately, scoring another go-ahead goal a minute later, followed by a power play goal, giving the Argos a 3-1 edge after the first period. The Bruins' magic number was now five.
Just past the midway point in the second period, Klae Blayda broke down the ice and got the Bruins the to within one.
Nate Ferris, in net for the Bruins, did what he could to keep his team in the game making 10 saves in the second period, only to surrender the fourth goal of the game with about a minute left in the period.
Down 4-2 to open the third, the Bruins were handed a brilliant opportunity by the Argos to get back in the game. The Bruins had a power play for the first four minutes of the final period, some of that time up two men, but were unable to capitalize on any chances.
After that, frustration set in for the Bruins, who got into penalty trouble, collecting four minor penalties, two double-minors and a 10-minute misconduct in the third, as Notre Dame scored once more for a 5-2 final.
"We tried to hold them tight, and you know what we did," said Copeland. "Particularly in the first. We didn't get a couple bounces and they came right back down and they scored on a couple bounces that didn't go our way, and that's hockey. We didn't rebound off that, and there are some goals we want back."
Copeland is interested in having his team look ahead to what hockey they still have left to play.
"We're not going to sit there and dwell on it, we're going to try and get better."
The Bruins had struggled with the Argos all year.
"We've got a losing record against the Argos, but if we want to be considered with the top two teams, we have to beat the Argos. We beat them (once) in December, but they are a good team and until proven otherwise, they are the best team in this league."
He said they've struggled with confidence lately and will look to go back to playing hard and playing their game.
The Bruins played their last season game Monday night versus the Notre Dame Argos, results weren't available at press time.
League playoffs are expected to begin this weekend.
