The Estevan Bruins went into Wilcox on October 25 looking to halt a two-game slide but instead slid further back, losing their third straight game 4-1 to the Notre Dame Hounds.

Hounds goalie Jacob Standen made 27 saves on 28 shots in the loss, while Matt Lukacs surrendered four goals on 28 shots in the loss. Tanner McKechnie scored the lone Bruins goal.

Notre Dame showed their speed early, drawing penalties and outshooting the Bruins 14-8 in the opening frame. Hounds forward Connor Mylymok opened the scoring when the hometown squad outnumbered the Bruins down low and flung the puck out front to him in the high slot, where he made no mistake and beat Lukacs low blocker.

Early in the second the Bruins pushed for the tying goal, but a bizarre play in the offensive zone turned into a two-on-one for the Hounds. Brendan Mark tried to shoot but topped the puck, and Chance Longjohn and Chaz Smedsrud went back the other way. Notre Dame’s two leading scorers played the odd-man rush perfectly with Smedsrud finishing it off.

The Bruins tried and failed to capitalize on two power plays of their own, before Alexandre Desgagnes struck on the man advantage for Notre Dame to increase their lead to three. Desgagnes faked out Tanner Manz with a nifty toe-drag move before walking in and firing a shot past a screened Lukacs.

Estevan had a golden opportunity in the third period with a five-on-three advantage but couldn’t convert. McKechnie scored at even strength and the Bruins appeared to be pressing but their momentum came to a halt when Raihan Kheraj was given a five-minute major for hitting from behind. Kheraj stepped up in the neutral zone and threw a devastating hit on Smedsrud that knocked him into the boards in front of the Bruins bench, setting the Bruins down a man for the remainder of the game.

The Bruins tried their best to mount an attack despite being shorthanded. Captain Jake Fletcher made some beautiful moves to walk in all alone but couldn’t beat Standen with the backhand. Then, newcomer Arthur Miller was called for cross checking, and with the Bruins down two men the Hounds salted the game away with a marker from Zack Kosteniuk.

The loss was the Bruins third in a row on their only losing streak of the year thus far. They’ll have a week-long layoff before getting back in action at home on November 1.

GAME NOTES;

-Arthur Miller, acquired for Isaac Embree and Nolan Ferguson, played his first game as a Bruin and was held pointless.

-Miller played left wing with Goberis and McChesney, who were also held pointless for the first time since the 3-2 win over Melfort on October 6.

-The Bruins have now lost both games in Wilcox, dropping a 5-4 overtime decision on October 1. The Hounds are the only team to beat the Bruins twice this year.

-Connor Mylymok opened the scoring for the second game in a row against Estevan.

-Jake Heerspink earned a point on McKechnie’s goal. He now leads the Bruins defense in scoring with four goals and ten assists for fourteen points in sixteen games.

 

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