The Estevan Sherritt Coal Bruins won the final battle but still lost the war.
Taysen Holt led the Bruins with four goals Sunday in a 9-7 win over the hometown Canora Cobras.
Canora, however, was awarded the Saskatchewan Hockey Association midget A provincial championship having won the two-game total-goals series 16-12.
"Most definitely it helped soften the blow," said Bruins head coach Gary Earl. "The guys gave it all up in Canora. They knew what kind of steps we were to take if we were to even try and win the game.
"It didn't quite work out the way we'd hoped but it still was a plus to win."
Dakota Zimmerman scored twice for Estevan, and the Bruins also got goals from Landon Lavoie, Dallas Kickley, and Cole Stevenson as they tried to rally from six goals down after losing the series opener 9-3 on home ice March 24.
Special teams were the difference in that game, with Canora scoring five power play goals to Estevan's one. Both teams scored four times with the man advantage Sunday.
"I think with the depth on both teams, we both could score goals," said Earl. "It just boiled down to whose goaltending and defence showed up in the games and that kind of happened for them in the first game."
Canora finished Sunday's game without forward Cody Biletsky, who was ejected in the second period after incurring a charging major.
The Bruins meanwhile played their season finale without defenceman MacKenzie Selk, who was suspended two games after receiving a cross-checking major in the series opener.
"He controls the puck and makes good plays out of our end so that made a huge difference not having him," said Earl.
Including regular season, playoff, provincial, exhibition, and tournament games, the Bruins finished the season with a win-loss-tie record of 34-11-2, outscoring their opponents 323-202 along the way.
"We had a really successful season," said Earl. "It would have been nice to end it on a different note, but we got to the provincial final and that's a plus too I just want to say a thank you to all the players and fans and parents for supporting the team throughout the year."
