There is no longer an undefeated team in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in 2017/18.

The Power Dodge Estevan Bruins skated their way past the previously unbeaten Melfort Mustangs on Friday night, winning 3-2 in front of a raucous home crowd at Affinity Place.

Melfort (8-1-0) suffered their first loss in nine games in their first meeting this year with the Viterra Division-leading Bruins (7-2-1), who now remain perfect in three games in Estevan.

The Bruins' got off to a perfect start 1:38 into the game as rookie Matthew Chekay slipped his 3rd goal of the season through the wickets of Melfort's Evan Plotnik to make it 1-0.

Hayden Guilderson added to the lead with three minutes left in the 1st period, scoring his 6th of the season. However, Melfort's Lock Morrison scored on a 5-on-3 for the Mustangs in the final minute to make it 2-1 after 20 minutes.

Matt Lukacs Now Has Five Wins For The Bruins This Year.

That remained the score until Estevan capitalized on a powerplay with eight minutes left in the 2nd period. Jake Heerspink fired a shot towards the goal looking for a deflection, getting one from the lower body of Jake Fletcher. The puck careened past Plotnik for Fletcher's 5th of the year to make it 3-1. Then, with four minutes left in the period, Melfort's Jake Misskey scored to make it 3-2 after two periods.

The final period would be tightly contested, with the Mustangs and Bruins trading chances for the majority of the period. Melfort was able to get sustained pressure in the Estevan zone several times in the final minutes, but were unable to get many shots on Bruins' netminder Matt Lukacs.

With just over two minutes remaining, Fletcher connected with an open-ice hit in the neutral zone on a Mustangs forward. The collision drew a response from Melfort's Tanner Zentner, who was given an extra two minutes for Unsportsmanlike Conduct.

Melfort's Tanner Zentner Dropped His Gloves To Get Fletcher, Drawing A Penalty.

That meant Estevan would be on the powerplay until the final 30 seconds of the game, after which the Bruins' kept the Mustangs away from the tying goal and vaulting the home team to a 3-2 win.

"It's a massive win for us," expressed Fletcher, who was named first star in the game. "Not only to snap their win streak, but for us to play our type of hockey tonight. We just showed what we can do."

After an overtime loss on Wednesday against Notre Dame and squeaking out an overtime win last weekend in Yorkton, Bruins' Head Coach and General Manager Chris Lewgood was quite happy with the all-around game from his team on Friday.

"I thought it was an excellent effort, and it had to be to beat a great team," stated Lewgood. "We've told the guys that we're not solely judging the success of games from only wins and losses, those come with effort and attention to detail."

"But tonight I thought we played 60 minutes of quality hockey. We controlled everything we could, and when us coaches made the necessary adjustments I thought the players responded and executed well."

The Bruins' will be off for the Thanksgiving long weekend, returning to action on Tuesday night when they travel to Yorkton to take on the Terriers. Catch the game on Rock106 and DiscoverEstevan beginning at 7:20pm.

GAME NOTES

- The Bruins' held Melfort to just 18 shots on goal, a season-low. Estevan finished with 33 shots.

- Estevan finished (2/8) on the powerplay, Melfort finished (1/5).

- Jake Fletcher (1G, 1A), Hayden Guilderson (1G, 1A) and Jake Heerspink (1G, 1A) led the Bruins' in scoring.

- Both Zach Goberis (6 games, 15 points) and Michael McChesney (9 games, 18 points) saw their point streaks come to an end.