It wasn't the greatest of weeks for the Eagle Drilling Estevan Bruins. After a 5-4 loss to Humboldt last Tuesday, the Bruins dropped two more games over the weekend to make it three straight.
Estevan was in Melville on Friday night to take on the Millionaires, and although things started out great for them, they didn't play a full 60 minutes and lost 5-4. The Bruins were back at home on Saturday night hoping for a better effort, and while they did finish strong, a sluggish start to the contest cost them a 4-3 shoot-out loss.
The Bruins came out flying in the first period in Melville on Friday. Ryan Andersen, Lucas Stubel and Troy Hunter each scored in the first to give Estevan a 3-0 lead, but they weren't able to keep their foot on the gas, and things fell apart for them in the second.
The Millionaires got right back in it with three unanswered goals in the second to tie the matchup heading into the final period. Melville then scored just 47 seconds into the third to take a 4-3 lead, before a Cole Olson marker tied the game once again. It just wasn't to be for the Bruins though, as Lucas Froese scored the winner for Melville with just over a minute to play.
On Saturday, the Bruins were at home against the Weyburn Red Wings, and although they lost again by a single goal, the process was almost the exact opposite. Estevan came out flat, and fell in a 3-0 hole in the first period. A rather soft third goal by Weyburn's Jesse Ross prompted Bruins' head coach Karry Biette to make a goaltending change. Joel Danyluk entered the game, replacing Shea Cooper between the pipes with just under three minutes to play in the opening frame.
"There were a couple Cooper would like back; there were a couple that probably shouldn't have gone in the net," said Biette.
The goaltending change worked well, as Danyluk played an excellent game off the bench, allowing Estevan to climb back into the contest.
Andersen got the Bruins on the board halfway through the second, and then third period tallies from Josh Jelinski and Mark Cross tied the game with 10 minutes remaining in regulation.
Estevan had a chance to take their first lead and ultimately put the game away on the power play in the final minute of the third and first minute of overtime, but were unable to convert. The game then went to a shootout, where Weyburn's TJ Wees scored the only goal to give his club the 4-3 win. After the game Biette was not happy with his team's performance.
"We didn't play well. We didn't play well until the third period," he said. "The effort wasn't there. We were tentative and it looked like we were scared to make a mistake."
Biette said once the game went into a shootout, he wasn't really concerned with who won - he thought his team should have secured the victory in overtime, or when they had the momentum after a Weyburn timeout late in the third.
"In a shootout, I couldn't care less who wins," said Biette. "It's a crapshoot, and at that point there's no getting mad anymore. I'm more upset that we had an opportunity on the power play in the overtime and didn't take advantage of that.
When it comes to the shootout, yeah we want to win, but it's pretty tough to get upset about a shoot-out loss."
To make things worse for Estevan, the club learned that forward Michael Hengen has a torn ACL, and will be out for the majority of the season.
The Bruins record now sits at 7-5-1-1. They'll try to right the ship this weekend with a pair of home games. They host the Nipawin Hawks on Friday night and the Kindersley Klippers on Saturday. Both games are at 7:30 p.m.
