ESTEVAN - The Estevan Bruins are heading back to the SJHL playoffs.
The Bruins defeated the Notre Dame Hounds 5-4 Friday night at Affinity Place to punch their ticket for the postseason for the 13th straight season. Estevan (25-25-2-2) has 54 points after Friday night, eight more than the ninth-place Nipawin Hawks, who had 45 points with three games to play.
"When you get to the regular season starting, your first goal is to make the playoffs, and that's all you're trying to do," said head coach and general manager Jason Tatarnic. "It would be nice to have home-ice advantage and all that kind of stuff, but at the end of the day, you want to be in the playoffs and it's a brand-new season."
Estevan opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game on a power-play goal by Ilia Chmelevski. Kaelen Whittingham doubled the lead a few minutes later. Liam Hunks pulled the Hounds to within one late in the frame.
Notre Dame's Carson Baylis scored twice in the opening six minutes of the second period to put the Hounds in the lead. Raine Hodge tied the game for the Bruins before the midway point, and Carson Dyck put the Bruins ahead for good when he scored in the final minutes of the stanza.
Dillon Jackson's goal midway through the third put the Bruins up by two. Carter Onrait of Estevan assisted on the goal for his first point in the SJHL.
Notre Dame's Cole Wirun scored with 39 seconds to play in the third to round out the scoring.
Johann Tremblay-Kau stopped 26 shots for Notre Dame, while Jackson Miller had 34 saves for Estevan.
Alternate captain Owen Barrow said it felt "really good" to wrap up a playoff spot.
"I think everyone just realized that we had to play for the guys who couldn't play tonight [due to injury and suspension], and make sure they get more games when they come back," said Barrow.
Two nights earlier, the Bruins lost 6-2 to the host Humboldt Broncos. Felix Allard opened the scoring 7:04 into the first period for Estevan, but Humboldt took over from there. Patrick Lanthier, Brayden Skogstad and Matthew Van Blaricom scored five minutes apart in the second half of the first, and then Ben Costantino and Daylan Weigel scored 29 seconds apart late in the second.
Hodge and Spencer Bell traded goals in the third.
Miller made 35 saves for the Bruins, while Benjamin Motew had 28 saves for Humboldt.
"I thought we started really well in Humboldt," said Tatarnic. "We had a good game plan and we probably could have been up by three in the first 10 minutes, but we were only up by one. And then we gravitated from being smart defensively and managing pucks with the short bench, and it cost us."
The Bruins played both games without several regulars. A few were sidelined due to injuries, while Alexander Papaspyropoulos and Keagon Little were out due to suspension, stemming from an incident at the end of the March 2 game at the Flin Flon Bombers. Papaspyropoulos was banished for two, while Little is out for five, meaning he will miss the first game of the playoffs.
Barrow was pleased with the response on Friday night.
"I'm definitely really happy with how everyone worked hard and how everyone pulled their own weight," said Barrow.
Onrait and Chase Holt, who spent this season with the Estevan Great North U18 AAA Bears, played for the Bruins on Friday night, while back-up goalie Wyatt Bouvier played U18 for the Yorkton Maulers. Other U18 players could be joining the Bruins, Tatarnic said.
Estevan will finish the regular season with a pivotal home-and-home showdown with the Weyburn Red Wings. The two teams are tied for sixth in the SJHL standings, although Weyburn has one game in hand.
The Bruins and Wings will clash on March 15 in Estevan, and in Weyburn the following night. Both games will start at 7 p.m.
Once the playoffs begin, Tatarnic said anyone can beat anybody.
"It's just getting these guys to play better defensively and taking more pride in it, and if you can keep the puck out of your net, we do have some offence that can score some goals," said Tatarnic.
