They were expected to win and score a lot of goals this season, and so far the Estevan Apex AA Bruins have not disappointed. The Bruins added to their undefeated season with two more victories this past weekend over the Balgonie Prairie Storm on Saturday and Moose Jaw on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Bruins were up against a very good Prairie Storm club but were able to play a solid all-round game and came out on top 6-4. Scoring for Estevan in that game were Brody Connelly (2), Jolan Lingelbach, Dylan Johner, Rhett Handley, and Josh Ferris.
Bruins coach Tom Copeland was proud of his team after the 6-4 win and he said the Prairie Storm is a tough team that has been good in this age group for years.
"They have a couple of kids on that team who can play. That Prairie Storm team has been an excellent club for this age group," said Copeland. "When they were in bantam they were the best club in the province by a long ways, and at times beating the AAA team out of Notre Dame."
The only downfall for the Bruins on Saturday was the number of penalties they were taking. Copeland said some of their veteran players were taking penalties that they just can't be taking, but the team talked about it after the game, and he hopes the issue has been resolved.
The game against Moose Jaw on Sunday was a much different affair. The Bruins dominated that game, and crushed their opponents 9-1. Copeland said it was nice because a few of their players that they expect to be a big part of their offensive attack this season broke out of their slumps. The Bruins had seven different goal scorers in that game; Johner (2), Dylan Herzberg (2), Connelly, Jason Hengen, Klae Bayda, Marshall Holzer and Mark Moriarty.
"We got a well balanced attack which always makes everybody happy," he said. "I think the most points anybody had in the 9-1 win was three and that was Herzberg, and that was one of the kids we were looking to break out of the slump."
Coming into the season, the Bruins knew that offence was not going to be a problem; after all they have one of the top AA forward groups in the province. Defensively however, they weren't so confident with four first year defenceman and five who had never played AA midget before, but their d-core has played excellent so far this season, and has improved every game.
Like any hockey team, the Bruins do need to improve in certain areas, and Copeland said after Sunday's game in Moose Jaw, they talked about a few things they'd like to work on.
"We still have a long ways to go," he said. "Certainly right now though, we're ahead of the curve, but part of that is because we got our tryouts and practices done before some of these other teams, but it never hurts to get off to a good start."
The Bruins have two more games this weekend. They're at home on Saturday to Swift Current, before heading out on the road Sunday with for a game in Regina.
