The Estevan Bruins and Battlefords North Stars lost a lot of offense in the offseason but you'd have never guessed that from the game they played on Friday, November 2 in Estevan. The two teams traded goals, big hits, and wild swings of momentum in a 6-4 Bruins win.

Will Koop scored twice and added two assists, while Grant Boldt made 26 saves as the Bruins took their first game at home since October 20. TJ Irey, Bryce Platt, Tanner Manz, and Michael McChesney also scored on North Stars goalie Joel Grzybowski, who stopped 25 of 30 shots he faced in addition to an empty-net goal.

"Tonight's game sort of speaks to the parity in the league," said Bruins head coach and GM Chris Lewgood, "and the fine line that goes between having a good shift, a bad shift, a good period or a bad period. We dominated the first period, got dominated in the second, and carried the play, though I wouldn't say dominated in the third."

The Bruins roared out of the gate, solving Grzybowski just 2:04 in. Will Koop took a feed from Turner Ripplinger off the rush, broke in down the right side and ripped a shot upstairs for his second as a Bruin.

"Ripper just kicked it out wide and took the d with him to the net," Koop said of his opening tally. "I just had a nice lane to walk in. I saw some net in the top corner and just shot it in."

The Bruins kept on rolling, potting two more in the opening five minutes and five seconds. First, TJ irey tucked in his ninth of the year on a sweet backhand move after a perfectly executed three-on-two left him in the clear. Then, Bryce Platt looked off Isaiah Thomas and caught Grzybowski cheating, sniping one under the bar for his fifth in Bruins colours.

"Bryce has a great shot," said Lewgood of Platt. "He's great with the puck, protects it very well, and that was one where his intelligence showed. He had time, saw there was a bit of a hole up there, and most guys even if they do recognize that chance they're not going to make that shot most times."

The North Stars refused to go away, however, gradually regaining the momentum and, in a flurry of goals in a five-minute span, the lead. Quinton Loon-Stewardson scored his first of the year to open things up, putting the puck through the feet of Jack Michel before shooting while falling to end Boldt's shutout bid. 

Then, with only two seconds left in the second, Owen Lamb had a cross-crease pass go in off his foot. The North Stars opened the third on the power play, and Lamb scored there as well, tying the game at three.

The North Stars took their first lead of the game off good cycle work by Loon-Stewardson and Logan Spence, who tapped it home, but that seemed to light a fire under the Bruins. Koop took an offensive zone pass from McChesney and put it in the same spot as his first goal to tie the game. 

With the third period trickling away, Manz tipped home a point shot by Aigne McGeady-Bruce to give the Bruins the lead. Then, in the dying seconds, Koop returned the favor to McChesney with the net empty and he scored his team-leading tenth. 

Estevan moves within a game of .500 at 9-10 on the year. Their next game is Saturday, November 3, against the Kindersley Klippers. 

GAME NOTES

The Bruins win their third straight game on home ice. All three games have been against teams over .500.

Michael McChesney has ten goals and ten assists on the year, being the first Bruins player to hit double digits in both. He has five points in his last two games.

TJ Irey extended his goal streak to three games. He has four goals and no assists in that span.

In the month of October, the Bruins have added Bryce Platt, Will Koop, and Tristyn DeRoose to their roster. All three players are over the point-per-game mark, with Platt leading the way with 14 points in 11 games.