RED WINGS COME OUT ON TOP AT REMATCH IN ESTEVAN
story by Play-By-Play Voice of the Red Wings, Steven Wilson, of DiscoverWeyburn.com
The Weyburn Red Wings snapped a two game losing skid Wednesday night, when they doubled up on the Estevan Bruins with a final of 6-3. The win in Estevan comes just a few days after the Bruins scored six on the Red Wings at Crescent Point Place.
The game started out looking like the Bruins would be all over the Red Wings once again, as just 30 seconds into the first period, Kaelan Holt scored his ninth goal of the season, on a tic-tac-toe play with Lynnden Pastachak and Matt McNeil picking up the assists. The Red Wings rebounded quickly from the setback, and played steadily throughout the rest of the period, before Ian Parker was able to position himself directly in front of Bruins goalie Nathan Alalouf, and redirect a centring pass into the Bruins net to even things up on the powerplay. The assists for the goal came from Jeremy Lagler, and Mike Eskra. The point would be the first of four on the night for Lagler, who is now the top scoring defenceman in the SJHL this season.
“I think whenever you get four points it feels pretty good, but for sure it feels better doing it against the Estevan Bruins,” Lagler said after the game.
The Red Wings came out of the gate in the second, when Cole Woodliffe potted his fourth goal of the season just 45 seconds in. The lead would be erased at the 1 minute mark of the period, when Tyler Hengen scored his second of the season, when his shot from the point hit a couple of bodies on the way to the net, and snuck past Red Wings goalie Shaun Fleming. Just 35 seconds later, Jayden Davis, recently sent down from the WHL to the Bruins, then put the Bruins put front when his shot from the top of the left circle handcuffed Fleming, and found the twine.
Fleming, who made his second start of the season last night, in place of regular starter Nathan Hargrave, bounced back from those goals. He would proceed to stop all the remaining shots the Bruins would throw his way en route to picking up his second win on the young season.
The Red Wings would proceed to tie the game up when a lucky bounce went the way of Weyburn. Connor Burk was hemmed up in the corner in the Bruins zone, and managed to kick the puck out of the scrum back to Ian Parker, below the goal line. Parker threw the puck out front, looking for Landon Walters who was cutting in through the slot. The puck instead took a bounce off the pads of Alalouf, and went in, tying the game up for the Wings. Just over forty seconds later, Weyburn would regain the lead.
Carson Rose would score his fourth of the season, with Lagler and Braden Mellon getting credits for the assists. The shot from the right face-off circle, a quick one, went up over the trapper of Alalouf after he dangled his way in close past two Bruins defenders.
The Red Wings would pick up in the third period, where they left off in the second. Donovan Lumb scored his third of the season just under seven minutes into the final frame. Jacob Wozney and Nathan Gelsinger picked up the assists for the goal. It was followed up by Lagler’s first goal of the season, coming off a one-timer from the right circle, set up by Parker on the powerplay.
The Red Wings had quite a few powerplay opportunities in the game, as the Bruins appeared to be the frustrated team. Weyburn went 2-for-7 with the man advantage, something that Lagler said was due to staying disciplined on the ice.
“Figured if we stayed disciplined tonight the outcome would be the way we wanted it, and it was,” Lagler stated after the game.
For Wings head coach Wes Rudy, he was glad to see that the Red Wings were able to put some goals on the board, after being limited in their offensive abilities over the past few games.
“We’ve been struggling putting pucks in the net, everybody knows that,” Rudy said after the game. “ It’s good to get six on the board, and now hopefully we can move forward from that.” The offensive output the highest on the season for the Red Wings, who managed to get 36 shots on the Bruins net. That is the most they have picked up in a few games.
The Red Wings will now prepare for two big games at home on the weekend. The Notre Dame Hounds come in to take on Weyburn Friday night at Crescent Point Place. That will be followed up with a match-up against the La Ronge Ice Wolves Saturday night.
