The Estevan Apex midget AA Bruins had a weekend off from regular league play, and they used it to compete in, and win the Kelly Dmyterko Memorial tournament in Prince Albert.
Estevan's first game was on Friday afternoon, where they got by the Winnipeg 'AAA' Warriors 7-2. The Bruins got two-goal efforts from both Mark Moriarty and Austin Halladay, while Dylan Herzberg, Klae Bayda and Brody Connelly added the others. Tyler Myers played very well in goal to preserve the victory.
After winning their opening game, the Bruins were right back on the ice just a few hours later to face the Northeast Maple Leafs who are based out of Nipawin and Melfort.
Despite losing the game 3-1, Bruins' coach Tom Copeland said his team played a great game and just met with some tremendous goaltending. Nate
Ferris took the loss in net for Estevan but played well. Connelly had the Bruins lone goal in the loss.
Estevan got back on the winning track with a convincing 7-2 win over the Regina Capitals on Saturday evening. According to Copeland, the Capitals got some excellent goaltending, and the score could have been a lot worse.
Herzberg led the way for the Bruins with a goal and two assists. The other Estevan goal scorers were Moriarty, Connelly, Halladay, Dylan Johner and Rhett Handley.
After the three-game round-robin, Estevan came out on top of their pool thanks to goals for/against. This put them up against the Prince Albert Thunder in the semifinals, where they emerged victorious, 6-4.
Scoring for the Bruins were Bayda (2), Holzer, Dylan Lamontagne, Josh Ferris and Jake McMillen, while Myers got the win in goal.
According to Copeland, it was a very balanced effort, and was a win that was achieved without goals from the team's "Big Three" (Moriarty, Herzberg and Johner) which was a huge achievement.
In the tournament final, Estevan was pitted against the Winnipeg 'AAA' Warriors for the second time of the weekend. After two periods, the game was tied 2-2, but the Bruins were able to take things over in the third and come away with a 6-3 victory.
Johner led the way with two goals and two assists, while the other markers came from Holzer, Herzberg, Bayda and Moriarty. Nate Ferris earned the victory in goal.
After winning the tournament, Copeland said the Bruins' power play was very good all weekend, and he was very happy with the club's progression throughout the tournament.
Estevan has a pair of league games this weekend, starting on the road in Regina where they'll take on the Capitals on Friday at 7:45 p.m. They'll return home to host Lumsden/Bethune on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
