The La Ronge Ice Wolves came out firing on Friday night in Estevan, building a 2–0 lead before the Bruins stormed back with a massive push that turned the game around in a 7–3 final at Affinity Place.
La Ronge controlled the opening half of the first period and was rewarded at 10:41 when William Knox ripped home his fourth of the season off a setup from Connor Hoemsen. Just four minutes later, the Ice Wolves doubled the lead. Trevor Oishi hammered home a power-play one-timer from Everett Merchant and Justin Berezniuk, making it 2–0 Wolves and silencing the Estevan crowd .
Estevan’s power play proved to be the spark the home side needed. A man-advantage marker at 17:10 cut the Ice Wolves’ lead to 2–1, heading into the first intermission.
The second period shifted the game completely.
Estevan tied the game 2-2 on a power-play strike at 3:48, then added another less than a minute later to go up 3-2. Ice Wolves newcomer Nikita Kulikov evened the game 3-3 with his first of the year at 13:01, finishing a clean passing play from Zane Normand and Owen Turner.
But the Bruins answered back immediately with two quick goals before the end of the period, stretching the deficit 5-3. La Ronge was outshot 19–9 in the frame and couldn’t recover the early momentum they owned.
Estevan added two more goals in the final frame—including a power-play tally—to lock in the 7–3 result. La Ronge generated chances but were unable to solve Bruins goaltender Nathan Kam late who finished with 30 saves.
Special teams
- La Ronge: 1/1 on the power play
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Estevan: 3/5 on the power play.
