The Estevan Bruins have made a change in the crease.
The team signed Warren, Mich., native Tyler Ross last week and parted ways with 19-year-old goalie Derek Tendler on Monday.
Ross, 18, played for the Elliot Lake Bobcats of the outlaw Greater Metro Hockey League in Ontario last year.
He posted a 12-0 record with a 3.09 goals-against average and .902 save percentage for the league champs, and also appeared in two games with the Michigan Warriors of the North American Hockey League this year.
Bruins head coach Keith Cassidy said the deal had been in the works for up to three weeks as a way to increase the competition for Tendler and Steven Glass.
On Monday, the team released Tendler, with Cassidy calling it a mutual decision.
"He's a good guy that will be sticking around as part of the community, and hopefully we can keep him involved with the team somehow," said the coach.
"It was a good positive conversation. He's a pretty insightful young guy with a good head on his shoulders."
Ross made his first start in Friday's 5-2 loss in Melfort. Cassidy said he wasn't given much help, including a pair of two-man disadvantages.
"He showed that he hasn't played in a couple of weeks, but as the game went on, he got stronger and stronger."
Ross also entered Sunday's 2-1 loss in Humboldt after Glass was injured and Cassidy said he did well there.
"He moves real well, he's a big body in the net and he battles hard for pucks."
Meanwhile, the Bruins were planning to add a veteran defenceman at Tuesday's trade deadline either through trade or internally.
Local product Tyler Spencer, who left the team last January, has asked to re-join the club and has been practising with them since last week.
Cassidy said the decision on whether to bring him back likely hinged on whether the team could add another defenceman before the deadline.
"Whether he does or doesn't join the team will probably be an 11th-hour decision. He's certainly, in the times he's been out with us, worked hard and showed a desire to come back and that's encouraging."
Spencer, who is in his last year of Junior A eligibility, posted 23 points in each of the last two seasons with the Bruins.
Here is a recap of the deadline trade activity around the SJHL as the Mercury went to print:
-Melfort traded their captain, 20-year-old defenceman Mitch Berg, to the Battlefords North Stars for 19-year-old defenceman Zach MacLellan and 18-year-old forward Jake Daughtry.
-Battlefords acquired 20-year-old defenceman Klay Kachur from the Westside Warriors (BCHL) for future considerations.
-Melville acquired 19-year-old defenceman Landon Hall from the Dauphin Kings (MJHL) for futures.
