ESTEVAN - The Eagle Sky Estevan Bruins suffered three straight losses in their latest road trip through northern Saskatchewan.
Estevan fell 4-1 to the Humboldt Broncos on Feb. 5, and then dropped two straight against the Flin Flon Bombers, 5-2 on Feb. 7 and 4-1 the following night.
The losses leave the Bruins with a 14-23-5-1 record and 34 points, which puts them 10th overall in the SJHL standings. The top eight teams will make the playoffs. The Bruins are 13 points back of the eighth-place Kindersley Klippers, and have two games in hand on Kindersley.
Estevan and Humboldt were scoreless for most of the game on Feb. 5. Boris Kofman opened the scoring with just over 5 1/2 minutes to play in the second period. Kofman added his second of the game less than a minute into the third, and then Jeter Korte and former Bruin captain Cade Kennedy scored 88 seconds apart to put Humboldt up by four. Kieran Ronan had the Bruins' lone goal on the night with less than six minutes to play.
Zach Shaughnessy made 39 saves for Estevan, while Brady Holtvogt had 28 saves for Humboldt.
Estevan and Flin Flon played a couple of very entertaining games, but the Bombers pulled away in both. The game on Feb. 7 was tied at 1-1 through two periods, with Ryder Ringor – the twin brother of Bruins' forward Rylan Ringor – opening the scoring for Flin Flon in the first, and Luke Hogan responding for Estevan a few minutes later.
Ryder Ringor and Reid Arberry tallied for the Bombers in the third for a 3-1 lead. Kent Moors trimmed the deficit when he scored with 6 1/2 minutes to play, but late goals by Ryder Ringor and Keefe Gruener put the game away.
Beck Boiteau stopped 44 shots for the Bruins, and Matthew Kieper made 27 saves for the Bombers.
The following night, Steven Steranka opened the scoring for the Bruins 5 1/2 minutes into the first period, but Leo Seitz responded before the period was finished to tie the game, and Carter Cormier put the Bombers ahead with a power-play goal with 36 seconds left in the second.
Arberry's goal in the third added to the Bombers' lead, and Gruener finished the scoring with an empty-net marker with three seconds remaining.
Shaughnessy stopped 39 shots for Estevan, while Kieper had 30 saves for the Bombers.
Estevan will host the Yorkton Terriers on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. and visit the Terriers the following night. Then they will visit the Weyburn Red Wings on Feb. 17 at 3 p.m.
