Although the weekend didn't quite go as planned for the Bantam AA Estevan TS&M Bruins on the ice, the boys came back from the Graham Tuer Challenge in Regina with more than just experience on the ice.

"It was a tough weekend of hockey," said Head Coach Tom Copeland. "We competed well in our first game against Yellowhead and just ran out of gas. They're a big team, it was tough for us to handle since we aren't the biggest team."

The boys took a 3-3 tie into the third period of their opening game against the Yellowhead Chiefs, but would go on to give up three on their way to a 6-3 loss. Following their game on Thursday night, players along with their family members sat through a presentation about mental health awareness with Jim Demeray telling his story. Demeray is the Co Founder of UnderstandUs, which is a volunteer initiative that combats the stigma of mental health by providing awareness and education to overcome mental health barriers in youth.

"Jim Demeray did a really good job with an open mic type interactive format that he runs," Copeland said. "The kids were fairly engaged and listened, Jim's got a real story to tell so that was good."

The following day saw the Bruins play a pair of games, one of which was a familiar opponent.

"We went up against another big team in the Generals(Saskatoon) and we struggled with that losing 8-0. Then we picked up a 3-1 win against Burnaby and saw Melville in the "C" quarterfinal, I think we played well in that game and saw some good things in the 4-2 win. We had some guys sick and injured, we didn't put up much of a fight against West Central in a 6-1 loss."

"Overall the tournament served it's purpose, we saw a lot of good things. Our special teams were a lot better and even though the result wasn't necessarily there, the kids were using the right process. It's good to get out of there without too many injuries, we're happy to move on back to our regular season"

The Bruins also participated in another team building exercise after their games on Friday...

Members of the TS&M Bruins cooking in the kitchen. (Photo courtesy of @thetsmbruins)

"It's something we do annually now, they seem to enjoy them and learn a lot," Copeland said of their annual cooking classes. "I think the kids got a lot from it."

The TS&M Bruins return to the ice on Saturday, October 27th when they welcome the Warman Wildcats to Affinity Place at 5:15.