Neither the Estevan Bruins nor the Weyburn Red Wings were at full strength on Wednesday, February 14. That didn't stop them from playing the tightest game the two teams have played this year, however.

Estevan got a pair of goals from Michael McChesney, and singles from Zach Goberis and Jayden Davis, and Matt Lukacs made 27 saves to lead the Bruins to a 4-2 win in which they never trailed. It was the fifth win in a row for the Bruins over Weyburn in the 2017-18 season. 

"I thought we came out really strong," said Bruins head coach and GM Chris Lewgood. "Our first period was impressive. Our guys attention to detail and work ethic were great. I think maybe because of the lopsided play in the first we let our guard down in the second and combine that with a bunch of penalty kills and they gained some momentum." 

812 Fans Enjoyed The Bruins' 5th Straight Win Over Weyburn.

The Bruins outshot the Red Wings 13-4 in the first period, but led just 1-0 as only Goberis solved Weyburn goaltender Liam McCloskey. Working a cycle with Arthur Miller and Aigne McGeady-Bruce, Goberis took the puck at the bottom of the circle to McCloskey's left, curled into shooting position, and snuck a crafty wrister under the Red Wings netminder's arm.

Penalty troubles beset Estevan in the second, but it was Jayden Davis scoring shorthanded to put the momentum in Estevan's corner. Davis took a breakout pass that was rolling and walked in alone, firing a hard wrister that McCloskey originally saved. The Wings goaltender's momentum carried him into the net, however, and the official signalled a goal.

Weyburn got one back midway through the second on a bizarre play. A bad angle shot hit the zamboni door to Lukacs's right, and bounced straight out to Landon Walters. Walters reacted first, winding up and hammering the puck past Lukacs to get the Wings within one. 

It didn't take long in the third period for the Bruins to restore their two-goal lead. McChesney worked a cycle of his own with two defensemen in Tyler Hengen and Mark Edmands, and slid a backhander through the fivehole on McCloskey just 40 seconds into the final frame.

"Their d-man was kind of lost and I was able to muscle around him," McChesney said of the goal. "I faked the forehand shot right away to get him to go down, and once he went down I went to my backhand and his fivehole opened up."

"Weyburn it's always another level and you step your game up," he added. "You don't want to lose to those guys."

McChesney and Goberis would finish the game without running mate Miller, who was ejected for a boarding major in the second period. Davis stepped in and finished the game on that line.

"He creates so much space with his speed," said McChesney of his new linemate. "It's actually very similar to Arthur (Miller) because he loves banging the body and getting into those dirty areas."

"We mixed it up a little bit throughout the game, but Davis, McChesney and Goberis were a full-time line last year," said Lewgood. "There's lots of familiarity there and I know they're very comfortable together. Jayden brings a great deal of speed, more than anyone else we have here."

The Red Wings made the final minutes interesting as they clawed their way back within one on a Mike Eskra point shot that bounced off Goberis's stick and in. Oddly enough, Eskra has three goals in the last two games against Estevan, and all have been from defelections.

The Red Wings pulled the goalie late, but Eskra's goal would be their final one, and McChesney outraced a back-checking Garrett Szeremley to knock a backhander into the open cage. 

Estevan and Weyburn still have three more meetings this year, but Estevan officially seals the season series with the win. They are 5-0 against the Red Wings on the year.

GAME NOTES

Michael McChesney's 27th goal of the year puts him one back of Goberis for the team lead, and just five back of Layne Young for the SJHL lead. He now has five goals and eight points in four games against Weyburn.

Arthur Miller was ejected in the second period, but the hit was not from behind. Said Chris Lewgood after the game, "It was a clean hit but an unfortunate play. Typically if you hit a guy inside the circles he doesn't fly that far back into the boards but he slipped so far the refs' hands are kind of tied. I'm sure there won't be any supplemental discipline."

Two of Jayden Davis's four goals on the year have come against Weyburn. He has four points in five games against the Red Wings. 

Dating back to last year, Estevan has won seven straight against Weyburn. The Red Wings last win over the Bruins came over a year ago on February 11, 2017.

The Bruins have now outscored Weyburn 15-5 on home ice and 25-9 in the season series. They lead Weyburn in the Viterra Division by seven points and have played the same number of games.