The Estevan Bruins had nearly won their second straight Viterra Division title entering play on February 27. With a four-goal third period the Bruins beat the Notre Dame Hounds and removed what little doubt remained.

The big guns were firing for Estevan as Arthur Miller and Kaelan Holt scored twice, and Michael McChesney added the game winner on the power play as part of an offensive explosion in the final frame to sew up a 5-1 win for the Bruins. Bo Didur kept the Bruins in it through two periods with 28 saves on 29 shots, and then the offense took over in the third. 

"I thought we were holding on and just chipping away at the little things through two periods and in the third we found some confidence," said Bruins head coach and GM Chris Lewgood. "We found our legs and found a way to take over."

Estevan was playing behind the eight-ball to start as they were without Johnny Witzke and Jake Tesarowski on the back end and Matthew Chekay and captain Jake Fletcher up front. But Kaelan Holt got them off to a fast start when he came streaking into the zone and rifled a shot past Hounds goalie Jack Ryan. 

"The middle kind of opened up for me as the d-man made a hard cutback to the middle," Holt said of his opening tally, "so I took the puck out wide because I had a step on him. I saw that goalie, he was kind of cheating towards near side so I went far side and it went in."

Lewgood had high praise for his star forward, who also ended the game's scoring off the rush to put the final nail in the Hounds' coffin.

"He just works so hard," Lewgood said. "Despite his size he plays a big game and he's one of the hardest guys to knock off the puck and he's one of the best at knocking other guys off the puck. He's got the best stick in the league for takeaways and tonight he seemed to have it on a string."

Holt gave the Bruins their first lead, but it was a long time before they earned their second as Jared Hamm scored midway through the first, banging in a rebound on his backhand to tie the game. That tie stood until 3:18 into the third, when McChesney knocked the puck down at centre ice, skated his way out of a forechecker's path and danced into the zone before firing a tricky shot low-blocker past Ryan for his 28th of the season.

That gave the Bruins a lead they would never surrender, but Miller scored back to back goals, his 19th and 20th, to give the Bruins all the insurance they would need and then some. Miller got his first goal following Guilderson to the net on a rush and cashing a rebound, then potted his second as Zach Goberis hit him with a perfect cross-ice feed to the back door.

Holt then wrapped up the scoring and salted the game away for Estevan with his 28th. Off the rush he took a slick feed from a patient Tanner Manz in the slot, from where he made no mistake. 

"It was beautiful," Holt said of the pass. "(Miller) made a great play on the wall to chip it deep and Tanner and me went in two-on-one. I screamed for it and he heard me I guess. He made it pretty easy for me."

With the win, Estevan wraps up the season series with Notre Dame, finishing 4-1-1. The Bruins now await the sixth place team in the playoffs.

GAME NOTES

Arthur Miller becomes the sixth player to score 20 goals for the Bruins this year. All six of their top six forwards have hit 20 goals. Zach Goberis has 30, with Holt and McChesney (both at 28) having a chance to join him. They are the only team in the SJHL with more than four and one of just two teams with more than two. The Humboldt Broncos are the other.

The last time a team had six 20 goal scorers was also an Estevan Bruins team with six in 2015-16. 

Estevan wins their second straight Viterra Division title for the first time in the team's 60 year history. The three division format has only been around since 2013-14, but the Bruins had never won two straight division titles in the old conference format either. 

Estevan has won four in a row against the Hounds after dropping their first two in Wilcox. The Bruins have outscored Notre Dame 19-4 in the past three games.