The Estevan Bruins faced down elimination on Sunday, April 22 and never blinked.

Bo Didur made 36 saves and the Bruins got goals from four different players in a 4-0 win over the Nipawin Hawks in game six. Though the Hawks had some great chances on the power play early, they never solved Didur. 

The first period saw three straight power plays for the Hawks and then a fourth later on, all of which saw good chances for Nipawin as they attempted to put the series away. Yet despite good chances at either end and a total of 20 shots, nothing solved either goaltender in the first.

HIGHLIGHTS:

It was Johnny Witzke who finally started the scoring for Estevan at 4:03 of the second period, and they never looked back. During 4-on-4 play, Kaelan Holt stopped up inside the offensize zone and dangled his way into shooting position, drawing three Hawks players to him before feeding it through to Witzke at the top of the right circle. Witzke received and released the puck in one motion, wiring it past Declan Hobbs.

The Bruins scored another goal, this time on the man advantage, before the period was out. Zach Goberis wound up at the left circle but rather than letting a shot go he fired a slap pass to Michael McChesney at the side of the net. McChesney burried the pass and extended the Bruins lead.

The third period began with the Bruins up by two, but they waited just 17 seconds to go up by three. Holt knocked down an errant pass by Josh McDougal in the slot, and while Hobbs foiled Holt's initial chance, Hayden Guilderson was there to bury the rebound. Guilderson's marker made it 3-0 and it would be all the insurance Estevan needed, but they added one more from Jake Fletcher as he sniped one from a tough angle right under the bar on Hobbs to round out the scoring.

With the win, Estevan forces a seventh and decisive game in Nipawin on Tuesday night. The Canalta Cup will be handed out one way or another, so make sure you're tuning in on Rock 106, beginning with the pregame show at 7:20.

GAME NOTES

Holt's two assists move him into a tie for first in SJHL playoff scoring with Brandan Arnold of the Hawks at 21 points apiece. Imediately behind him are Jake Fletcher (20) Zach Gobers (19) and Michael McChesney (18).

McChesney and Fletcher's goals were their tenth of the postseason each. They move into a four-way tie with Arnold and Goberis for the playoff lead.

The Nipawin Hawks had not been shut out previously in the playoffs. They had been averaging just over three goals per game in the finals entering play on Sunday night.

Nipawin has played in the last two game sevens in the SJHL. This will be their third game seven in three years. They lost to Flin Flon in game seven in 2017 and Melfort in 2016.