The Estevan Bruins played their second shootout of the year on Sunday, November 5 and for the second time they walked away victorious, this time against the Nipawin Hawks.

It was the second shootout win in a row for the Bruins, who got goals from Kaelan Holt and Zach Goberis in regulation and then again in the shootout.

"I thought we got better and better as the game went on," said Bruins coach Chris Lewgood. "We made a mistake on their second goal but it was an easy mistake to identify, it's something that could happen at any time. As the game got on we got better. They probably tired out a bit but we forced them to work and put a lot more pressure on them in the second and third period. As a result we were able to take advantage of a road weary team."

The Bruins got behind the eight ball late in the first period when Hawks captain Carter Doerksen rifled a shot through traffic that eluded Matt Lukacs. Not many shots eluded the Bruins netminder on this night, however, as he made 35 saves on 37 shots. 

Kaelan Holt And Matt Lukacs Celebrate The Win

"I thought he was outstanding," said Lewgood of his goalie. "He was amongst our best players for sure and he made a lot of big saves for us."

The Bruins rewarded Lukacs's hard work with two goals in the second period. The first came from Kaelan Holt on the power play with his linemates Jake Fletcher and Hayden Guilderson providing the setup. 

"It was a nice pass from Guildy to Fletch in the middle there and he just tipped it to me," Holt said after the game. "One of the easier goals I'll score all year so I'll take those while I can get them."

Later in the period, at even strength, Zach Goberis took a pass in the neutral zone and powered his way between two Hawks defenders before rifling a shot low-glove on Hawks goalie Declan Hobbs to give the Bruins their first lead of the contest.

That lead held until late in the third period when Brandon Arnold, the Hawks leading goal scorer, found a rebound on the doorstep and chipped it past a stretched-out Lukacs to square the score.

For the second game in a row, overtime solved nothing for Estevan despite plenty of chances, including a four-on-three power play after Austin Mikesch slammed into Lukacs when he went to play the puck. The Bruins went off to the shootout, where Goberis and Holt recreated their scoring success of regulation time to give Estevan the win.

"Throughout my life I've always done the same thing or tried to," said Holt of his shootout winner. "I try to come in and fake out the goalie to get an open seam. I found it that time and it happened to be the winner, which is nice." 

The win gives the Bruins back-to-back victories ahead of their northern road swing. You can catch all the action from those four games on Rock 106 or discoverestevan.com.

GAME NOTES

-The win moves the Bruins to 12-5-1 on the season, one point back of the 12-4-2 division leading Weyburn Red Wings.

-Goberis's goal was his 19th of the year as he continues to lead the league in that department. 

-Jake Heerspink had his point streak snapped as he was held off the scoresheet tonight. 

-The Bruins and Hawks have now played two games, with each game being decided by one goal. They will play two more times in November, with the next one coming on November 12. Both those games will be in Nipawin.

-The Bruins next home games will come November 17 and 18 as they host Battlefords and Humboldt.