The Estevan Apex AA Bruins were handed their first two losses of the season over the weekend. The Bruins played a home-and-home series with the Notre Dame Hounds on Saturday and Sunday, dropping both contests 6-4 and 2-1, respectively.
Estevan had a slow start at home on Saturday, allowing the Hounds to jump out to a 4-0 lead in the second period.
"Our kids just weren't ready to play, and they know it," said Bruins head coach Tom Copeland. "It wasn't our best effort in the first couple of periods. We got away from what makes us successful and we just weren't working hard."
Marshall Holzer finally got the Bruins on the board with just over three minutes remaining in the middle stanza, before the Hounds restored their four-goal lead 34 seconds later.
With the score 5-1 entering the third, Estevan made some adjustments in an attempt to get back in the hockey game, and it worked. Goals from Dylan Johner, Jake McMillen and Dylan Herzberg brought them within just one with four minutes to play.
It was as close as they would get however, as Notre Dame scored into an empty net in the final minute to secure the 6-4 win.
"Notre Dame has got a good team," said Copeland. "Their record (4-3-1) certainly doesn't indicate the kind of team they've got. They're the best team we've seen so far by a long way.
"They brought it to us and they beat us at our own game. I think our kids got caught looking at their record and they just weren't ready to play."
It was a much lower scoring affair on Sunday with the teams combining for just three goals - all of them coming in the first period.
McMillen gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead with 11:45 left in the opening frame, before Dominik Florian potted two goals in just over two minutes to give the Hounds a 2-1 lead; one would not relinquish.
"Yesterday (Sunday) was just a fantastic game. It was a wonderful game of hockey, and our kids were ready, we just couldn't score," Copeland said. "They got some really good goaltending and we couldn't capitalize on our power play opportunities - they have a great penalty kill, and were able to hold us off."
With the two losses, the Bruins record is now 8-2-1. They'll hit the road this weekend for a pair games. On Friday, the Bruins will be in Wilcox at 8 p.m. to face the other Argos. Then on Sunday, Estevan will travel to Regina for a date with the Flames at 7:45 p.m.
