The Estevan TS&M bantam AA Bruins lost 6-2 to the Regina Aces at Affinity Place on Sunday.
Tom Copeland, head coach of the Bruins, said the game came down to some poor goals against and the guys have got to be better. He said they have got to want to win and they need to start showing it.
“We're not tough enough,” said Copeland. “We don't attack the puck defensively. Offensively we're probably getting a little bit better, but it's the case tonight where you've got one line going and two lines not going (or) one and a half lines going. All three lines have got to be going and our veterans have got to step up and show us more. They've got to lead the pack and right now they're not doing that.”
Aces forward Blake Duquette opened the scoring 4:27 into the game by jamming a puck through Bruins goaltender Zane Winter's pads while the clubs skated four aside. The Bruins had ample opportunity to even up the game throughout the first period on one of their five power plays including a 1:06 five-on-three advantage 14 minutes into the frame, but the Black and Gold could not sustain pressure in the offensive zone with the Aces doing a good job of intercepting pucks and clearing them out. Bruins forward Cale Adams finally notched the equalizer with 23 seconds remaining in the first period picking up a Max Wanner rebound at the side of the net and depositing it into an open glove side.
A two-minute penalty to Bruins forward Cody Davis at the end of the first period coupled with a minor infraction to Carey Levesque 13 seconds into the second period and the subsequent bench minor against the Bruins for arguing the call gave the Aces a lengthy five-on-three advantage with Cole Sillinger capitalizing on the opportunity at the 1:16 mark and the 1:44 point of the second period to give Regina a 3-1 lead.
Aces forward Johnny Carmichael made it 4-1 a little over five minutes later by collecting his own rebound in the crease and tapping it past Winter. RJ Dickie followed Carmichael less than two minutes later by poking in another rebound, which led to Winter being pulled for Logan Nagel.
Duquette opened the scoring in the third period firing a shot from the slot five hole on Nagel to make it 6-1. Adams replied on the power play 10:35 into the final frame on a drive to the net before wiring the puck off the crossbar and in.
“This is a game tonight that we needed to compete in,” said Copeland, noting the Aces (4-6) sit just above them in the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League standings. “We needed that game and we knew it and we just needed to be better.”
The Bruins (1-7-3) now head onto the road for a lengthy seven-game trip spread out over the next month and a half. Copeland said the Bruins can compete with anybody in this league, but the kids have got to be better if they're going to see some results in the win/loss column.
“That first game of the season against Yorkton (a 2-1 loss on Sept. 30) proves that we have the ability to do it, but right now we've got to start putting some wins under our belt,” he said. “They need to see that the process is successful at some time, so we've got a lot of work to do.”
