If I were a member of the Eagle Drilling Estevan Bruins right now, I know what I'd be asking Santa for, for Christmas - actually there'd be a few things on my list:
1) Wins. This one may be obvious, but the Bruins need wins badly right now. After losing 10 of 13 since November 18, they're slowly falling down the ranks in the SJHL's Sherwood Conference. They're now in fourth place after holding down second for most of the season.
2) The ability to put forth full-60 minute efforts. It seems almost every game this season, the Bruins have either been battling from behind or have a strong first period and then take the rest of the night off. Needless to say, a lack of three-period efforts is one of the main reasons they're struggling so much.
3) Better defence/goaltending. Aside from Battlefords, the Bruins have the league's highest number of goals against, with 146 in 35 games. On top of that, Estevan's goalies Joel Danyluk and Shea Cooper rank 12 and 14 respectively, out of 16 SJHL goalies when it comes to goals against average.* The Bruins are also the only club in the SJHL without a shutout this season.
* Minimum 660 minutes played.
4) Power play success. Since the start of their recent slide, Estevan has gone 9/49 on the power play, which works out to just over 18 per cent. Not horrible, but not good.
5) Fan support. Estevan is a hockey town, there is no doubt. But the Civic is looking pretty empty these days, and as cheesy as it may sound, some crowd support would only benefit this team. On top of that, lingering attendance figures are doing nothing to help the club's financial picture.
If the Bruins don't get at least a few of those things in the New Year, especially No. 1, they may be on the outside of the playoff picture for the second season in a row. If that happens, the club's executive and fans alike will not be happy, and a change behind the bench would be almost certain, especially after the success that was promised at that start of the season.
