For the second game in a row, sixty minutes wasn't enough for the Estevan Bruins as they went to overtime against the Kindersley Klippers on Wednesday, January 10. This time, the three-on-three session was kinder to the Bruins.

Johnny Witzke scored the winner at 3:35 of the extra frame and added an assist in regulation, and the Bruins took a 3-2 victory over the Klippers in their first meeting since September 22.

"I thought it was a sloppy hockey game," said Bruins head coach and GM Chris Lewgood. "I thought we controlled the play very well for two periods, where we skated well, supported the puck and moved the puck very well. Then we got sloppy. It just detriorated as the game went on and the quality of play sunk." 

 

The victory came with some hairy moments, as for the second game in a row the Bruins watched a lead slip away in the third period, but they rallied after nearling winning it in regulation. Michael McChesney seemed to score a go-ahead goal in the third but it was waved off after a lengthy discussion by officials because they believed McChesney had batted the puck in with his hand, despite the fact that both hands were on his stick.

"First they said it was batted in with a hand," Lewgood said of what he felt was an unsatisfactory explanation on the no-goal call. "I said, 'It doesn't matter if it's batted in with a hand as long as it's not gloved in.' If a guy is making a hockey play with his hand and it goes in, that's a goal."

Lewgood said the official then tried to change his explanation to McChesney's stick being too high. "The way I see it, they got it wrong twice because it (the stick) wasn't above his shoulders, and it wasn't off his hand."

McChesney did get the scoring started for Estevan in the first minute on the power play. Witzke shot for a rebound, and Zach Goberis tapped it to McChesney at the side of the cage, where he knocked home his 20th of the year. 

Chekay extended the Bruins lead to 2-0 on another power play with Tate Page off for the second of three consecutive minor penalties in a five-minute span. 

From there, the game got nasty. Page was given a minor for kneeing Mark Edmands on which the Bruins were unable to convert, and the parade to the penalty box by both teams lasted the whole period. At the end of the first, Jake Heerspink was given a five-minute major for kneeing Nik Malenica on what was virtually a replay of the Malenica hit on Edmands. In total, the lone official handed out 51 penalty minutes in the first period alone, including three ten-minute misconducts. 

After a scoreless second period, the Klippers scored a pair of goals from in tight in the third, with Keillan Olson sneaking down on the power play and rifling one high-blocker on Bo Didur, and Klippers captain Tanner Thompson firing in a rebound from close to the paint.

As expected of a three-on-three session, the two teams exchanged chances in OT, but Witzke made his chance count. Coming in on a two-on-one with Jayden Davis, Witzke held on, executed a perfect toe-drag, and rifled the winner past Justen Close from the high slot. 

"I was thinking of passing it to Jayden," Witzke said of the quick-developing play, "I could find a lane pretty good for passing. Just something inside, though, I wanted to get a good shot opportunity on net and I tried to toe-drag it around the defender there and fired it low-stick." 

With captain Jake Fletcher serving the first game of a two-game suspension, Estevan native Ryder Pierson drew into the lineup for his first SJHL game. Playing for his the team he spent his childhood watching left an impression on the seventeen year-old.  

"I was excited, nervous a little bit," Pierson said. "Playing for your hometown team in your first junior hockey game was pretty cool, especially to play at home in front of family and friends."

The Bruins and Klippers will get back at each other's throats on Saturday at 7:30 at Affinity Place. 

GAME NOTES:

McChesney's goal was his 20th of the year. He is the third 20-goal scorer so far this season for the Bruins. He has now matched his total of points from last year (41) in 19 fewer games.

Witzke's goal and assist gives him 30 points on the year. He is the first Bruins defender to get over 30 points this year, and sits fifth among all league defensemen. 

Bo Didur won his fifth game as a Bruin in seven starts. He is 5-1-1 with a 1.86 GAA and a .934 save percentage since his acquisition in Decemeber.  

With the win over Kindersley, the Bruins have now beaten every team in the SJHL at least once this year. The two teams first met on September 22, a 7-5 Klippers win in Kindersley. The Bruins also have a six-point cushion atop the Viterra Division, but the Weyburn Red Wings have three games in hand.