Originally posted Dec. 3, 2011
The Bruins had a big chance tonight to get back in the win column at home against a slumping team and a couple of former teammates. They got off to a bad start and then failed to take control of a tied game in the third period.
Nipawin scored four times in the third period to pick up a 7-4 win, only their second in their last nine games.
Darius Cole, Stuart Holland and Brady Zerr each scored twice for the Hawks, who controlled the majority of the game with good puck possession in the Bruins zone, even if the shot totals don't show it.
Nipawin scored twice in the first six minutes of the game, including a stellar rush by Keenan Martens that ended with a goal Derek Tendler probably wanted back.
The Bruins cut that lead in half on a Calder Neufeld goal before the end of the first period.
They would take their first lead of the game late in the second on back-to-back goals by Dylan Smith and Michael Hengen, but then a crucial swing happened.
Only 12 seconds after Hengen's breakaway goal off a setup by Tyler Kauk, Holland scored to tie it up again before the intermission. A Hawks team that likely would have been deflated by giving up two late goals suddenly had some extra jump.
Cole scored early in the third to give Nipawin the lead and they never looked back.
I gave Cole the first star on the CK750 broadcast with Branden Crowe. He had one of the best penalty killing shifts I've ever seen in the second period, keeping the puck in the Bruins' end for a good 30 seconds, setting up Zerr for what would have been a goal if not for a huge save by Tendler, and then drawing a penalty.
As for the AP players, Ryan Curzon did some good things out there and you could tell he's got some Jr. A experience. Scott Morrison made a couple of mistakes that I noticed, but he probably did as well as you could expect from an 18-year-old in his first SJHL game.
Here's a full recap of the game:
Having trouble getting the interview with Keith posted, but here are a few of the things he had to say:
On giving up the goal to Holland late in the second:
"You've heard me say it before. Our reaction right after a goal has to be better. We've talked about that. It's disappointing. We only have two games at home in December and you'd like to put on a pretty good show for the fans. We gave them something to get excited about, but we certainly didn't follow through on that. We're in a pretty fragile state of mind right now and we're just trying to build on the positive things that we see."
On the team's mental state right now:
"We're lacking in confidence a little bit at times and I think a lot of times, especially in this little streak here, we'll do something good and then all of a sudden we're looking around waiting for the other shoe to drop. I think once we get that confidence back, we're going to be okay. I think we're reading a little too much of the news and a little too much being on the internet. It starts to become a self-fulfilling prophecy that way. There's no doubt we can get back to believing in one another. There's a lot of talent in there. It's a fine line between going out there and playing with a lot of confidence and what you saw tonight."
On Curzon and Morrison:
"Both of them skate very well, both of them kept the game simple. Curzon has quite a bit of experience and I like his attitude. He brought a little bit of jump to the room and the bench and he wasn't scared to get in there and mix it up with the guys. They're going to come along with us again tomorrow (to Yorkton)."
