By Saturday night, the Power Dodge Estevan Bruins had gotten tired of playing against each other and were eager to play against other teams.
It took until overtime of the Black and Gold Gerry Aspen Cup intersquad game at Affinity Place for the teams to be completely done with each other.
“We're going to carry a lot of guys into the preseason and let them hash it out themselves,” said Bruins head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood. “But there's going to be some pretty good hockey players without a spot here at the end of the day. It's a good problem for us to have but it's never fun.”
For the black and gold game, the players were divided up by the scouting staff, with what Lewgood called 'what might be a 'friendly wager' placed on the result. The teams in the Gerry Aspen Cup were equally matched, so much so that the game ended about a minute into a three-on-three overtime when a puck deflected off a defender and behind prospective Bruin netminder Tyler Szturm.
The team had a rookie game Monday against the Notre Dame Hounds rookies in Wilcox before coming home for a Tuesday night inter-league battle with the Waywaysecappo Wolverines of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
“These players need to identify where they want to be on our hockey team, whether it be now or in the future,” Lewgood said. “Some of the young guys who aren't going to be on our team are going to play in the rookie game against Notre Dame and those guys ... need to identify who they're going to be and go ahead and play that type of role.”
Zach Goberis opened the scoring in the black and gold game for black with a clean wristshot to beat Matt Lenz. The gold team's Jake Fletcher responded a few minutes later by knocking in a rebound behind Alec Lindberg with Kaelan Holt picking up an assist.
The second period saw the teams trade goals by Michael McChesney and Jerzey Martin. That was the last scoring until overtime when Martin's shot deflected into the net.
Not all the players in the game were expected to have an equal chance of making the team. The players born in 2001 and 2002 are still likely to continue midget careers.
“The young guys that are here to impress for the future, we ask them to play their game and show their strengths and weaknesses,” Lewgood said. “What that does is provide us an opportunity to give them some feedback on some things we think they're going to need to work on for the years coming up and it allows us to watch their progress and check in on their current coaches and see how they're coming along.”
When it came to the intersquad game, Lewgood felt the game was hard-fought with players trying to make an impression on the staff.
“This time of year you're not going to be seeing the best hockey but you're seeing a lot of intensity and guys are proving that they have some character.”
One of the players who likely didn't have a whole lot to prove in the game was Fletcher, a 20-year-old forward and one of the captains for the game.
“It's a pretty big deal,” Fletcher said of the Gerry Aspen Cup. “We always have bragging rights for the rest of the year. You want to play with heart to let the young guys know it's their last chance to show the coach what they've got. It's good for all of them because if the older guys are going hard, they're going to go just as hard to win. It's a lot of fun.”
Goberis, also a 20-year-old forward expected to be leader on the team, enjoyed himself as captain of the black team.
“It was a long weekend, that's for sure, coming back with your first games from the summer,” Goberis said. “I think as the weekend guys got more comfortable on the ice. I think it showed in the games too.”
The camp was the end of about four games played between members of the Bruins against each other.
“A lot of the guys are pretty tired but this is the best camp I've seen since I got here,” Fletcher said. “We have a lot of good guys coming in and I'm really excited to get the year going.”
Goberis is also looking forward to the coming pre-season as the team starts to include some younger players early on.
“I think you just prove it on the ice so you can show the guys what it takes to be successful in this league,” Goberis said. “There's not really much talk in the locker room... you cant' lead much by talking... Leaders have to do a great job of showing strength.”
Fletcher's expected to wear a letter this year as a captain or alternate captain and as such the expectations are high.
“There's no doubt we've had great guys on our tram but we haven't had the best team core on the ice and off the ice, all together,” he said. “This year we really want to work on including everyone all the time and pushing each other. Just because you're 20 and some guys are 17 doesn't mean you're better. Everyone's equal. Everyone's part of the Bruins.”
The Bruins will conclude their pre-season with a home and home series with the Weyburn Red Wings Friday in Weyburn and Saturday at Affinity Place. The regular season starts Sept. 15 at home against the Melville Millionaires.
