ESTEVAN - The Estevan U13 A Bruins are off to the provincial final after beating the Yorkton Terriers in dramatic fashion.
Facing the Terriers in a best-of-two Hockey Saskatchewan semi-final series, the two teams played to a 3-3 tie in Yorkton on Sunday and a 4-4 draw Monday in Estevan. With the series tied, they had a 10-minute mini-game that was not sudden death.
Parker Zohner scored the series-winning goal with 27 seconds remaining in the mini-game to put Estevan ahead, and Joseph Hozjan shut the door in goal.
Zohner, Brooks Kuntz and Levi Garagan scored for Estevan in Game 1. Yorkton led 3-1 at one point, but Zohner scored in the second and Garagan tallied in the third to tie the game.
Estevan outscored the Terriers 4-1 in the first period of Game 2, with Zohner, Kayden DeBruyne, Hugh Ross and Preston Kuntz scoring for Estevan. Ross and Kuntz scored 55 seconds apart in the final two minutes of the opening frame.
But Yorkton chipped away at the lead, scoring once in the second and twice in the third to force the mini-game.
Brant Kersey with the U13 A Bruins said defencemen Jett Kersey and Logan Folbar were instrumental in limiting the chances of Yorkton’s high-powered forwards, and the lines of Callen MacDonald, Levi Garagan and Parker Zohner, and Maverick Tessier, Brooks Kuntz and Preston Kuntz were “phenomenal” down the stretch.
The club is comprised of players from the U13 house league teams in the Estevan Minor Hockey Association.
Estevan will play the Martensville Marauders in the provincial final.
