Dylan Smith and Ryan Andersen each recorded hat tricks as the Eagle Drilling Estevan Bruins erased 1-0, 3-1 and 4-3 deficits to come from behind and edge the Battlefords North Stars 6-5 at the Civic Auditorium last night.
After Battlefords' Tim Rollins scored the only goal in the first period, Smith tied things up halfway through the second with his first of the contest. The North Stars then reclaimed the lead with two goals in just under three minutes to make it 3-1 for the visitors.
The Bruins got back within one on the power play with less than two minutes remaining in the frame, as Smith notched his second of the night. Estevan tied it once again when Andersen recorded his first of the game early in the third.
With the score 4-3 for the North Stars, tallies by Smith and Andersen gave the Bruins a 5-4 advantage halfway through the period. However the persistent Stars evened it up again at the 3:17 mark.
Andersen was not about to let the win slip away though. He grabbed the puck in the final minute, burst into the Stars' zone on a 1-on-4 and somehow outmuscled the defenders, before snapping home his third goal of the evening to secure the Bruins' victory.
The line of Smith, Andersen and Mark Cross combined for 14 points in the win. Estevan's record is now 12-5-1-1, good enough for second place in the Sherwood Conference, three points behind Yorkton with four games-in-hand.
The Bruins and Terriers will meet this Friday in Yorkton at Farrell Agencies Arena, before Estevan returns home to take on the La Ronge Ice Wolves on Sunday at 6 p.m.
