A series that already seemed impossibly close ended even closer as the Estevan Bruins and Humboldt Broncos battled to overtime in game seven on Tuesday, March 26. At the final buzzer, it was the Bruins celebrating and the Humboldt Broncos packing their bags for one final time in the 2018-19 season.

Tristyn DeRoose scored 4:54 into overtime, and Grant Boldt turned aside 29 of 31 shots he faced as the Bruins won the series by the narrowest of margins, 4-3. Rayce Ramsay made 38 saves on 41 shots for the Broncos, who got goals from Josh Patrician and Reagan Poncelet.

LISTEN: Tristyn DeRoose's Overtime Winner

"The guys were pretty pumped obviously," said Bruins head coach and GM Chris Lewgood. "I think there's also some relief. It's been a long series and everyone's pretty tired. Nobody wants to be the guy who makes a mistake."

"What a comeback," he added. "What a gutsy effort by our guys."

The offense in regulation in this game was contained in just 50 seconds. The Estevan Bruins scored two goals 19 seconds apart in the first period, with Will Koop getting the scoring started when he fired a backhander over the shoulder of Ramsay. Then, Isaiah Thomas fed Eddie Gallagher out front, and Gallagher beat Ramsay in the same spot Koop did.

By the time the second period was just two minutes old, the Broncos had tied the score. Off the rush, Patrician jumped into the attack and wired a drop pass from Michael Clarke past Boldt. Much as the Bruins did in the first period, the Broncos struck quickly after their first goal. Poncelet tucked home a wraparound that fooled Boldt and just snuck in behind him.

Through tense moments and edge-of-your-seat action, the two teams battled their way through a scoreless third period. Early in overtime, DeRoose threw the puck into the Broncos crease and with TJ Irey and Thomas banging away at it, the puck settled down enough for Thomas to threat it across to DeRoose at the side of the net. He lifted it over the pad of a sprawled out Ramsay and triggered pandemonium at Affinity Place as 2600 fans celebrated.

"Tristyn's very mature, a very responsible player," Lewgood said. "He'd probably get more points if he would cheat a little more but his overall input wouldn't be as good. It's two overtime games and you get two real defensive minded guys providing offense for you." 

The win concludes a heart-stopping seventh game and the Bruins first round series. They move on to face the Melfort Mustangs in round two. The series begins Friday night in Melfort on Rock 106.