ESTEVAN - The Estevan Bruins took Game 1 of the inaugural Highway 39 Cup series with the Weyburn Red Wings by beating Weyburn 5-0 Wednesday night at Affinity Place.
Billy Sowa, Jamie Valentino and Olivier Pouliot scored two minutes apart midway through the third period to break open a 2-0 game.
Cody Davis opened the scoring with 6:08 to play in the first period, and Caelan Fitzpatrick had the other goal in the second.
Boston Bilous made 21 saves to get the shutout victory, his fifth of the season, while Jackson Fellner stopped 42 of the 47 shots he faced.
The Highway 39 Cup is a best-of-three showdown between the Bruins and the Red Wings, sponsored by Estevan Police Chief Richard Lowen and his Weyburn counterpart, Jamie Blunden.
Game 2 will be Saturday night in Weyburn.
If a third game is required for the series, it would be one of the remaining four games between the two teams after the Christmas break.
The winning team will receive a trophy, and the chief of the city for the losing team will have to wear the winning team’s jersey for a day at work.
The Bruins also had a First Responders’ Night during the game. Local police officers, firefighters and EMS employees were given free admission to the game, and were recognized. Lowen and Blunden performed the ceremonial opening faceoff before the game, and were joined by a member of the Estevan RCMP, Estevan Fire Rescue Service and Estevan EMS.
It was also the Bruins final home game before the Christmas break.
The Bruins (23-6-1-1) will visit the Yorkton Terriers on Friday before facing Weyburn again Saturday, while Weyburn will host the Melville Millionaires on Dec. 17 at 7:30 p.m. and then host Estevan the following night.
