WEYBURN, Sask. — The Weyburn Red Wings kicked off the Highway 39 Cup with a wild 8-5 victory over the rival Estevan Bruins on Friday night at the Whitecap Resources Centre.
The back-and-forth rivalry game featured a steady stream of offence before Weyburn blew the doors open with a four-goal third period. Red Wings coach Cody Mapes felt his players eventually found their footing in the high-scoring affair.
"It's probably a true early season rivalry game that is a little wild at times," Mapes said. "As the game went on, we settled in and stuck to what was going to give us success. We answered well in the first half of the game."
Weyburn’s scoring came from up and down the roster.
Jase McNichol led the way with two goals, including a first-period, short-handed marker. Jaxson Doyle racked up three points with a goal and two assists, while Jace Harder and Jordan Wales also notched a goal and an assist each.
"We really did get contributions from all over the ice, so it was good to see," Mapes said.
Defenceman Jonah Bierd also added two assists on a night he was honoured before puck drop for his performance with the Calgary Raiders of the Rocky Mountain Junior A Lacrosse League. The Raiders won the Minto Cup this year, with Bierd picking up three points in the tournament.
Estevan initially took control in the first period when Shea Rollason opened the scoring at 10:26. The two teams traded tallies, with Lochlan Tetarenko scoring for the Bruins before Harder tied the game at 2-2 late in the opening frame.
The see-saw battle continued in the second period. Estevan capitalized on a power play with a goal from Aiden Laing, but Weyburn’s Wales answered less than 30 seconds later. After Doyle gave Weyburn their first lead, Ty Hynes tied it 4-4 for the Bruins at the 10:02 mark.
Following the Hynes goal, Mapes opted for a change in the crease. Starting goaltender Nate Stevens was pulled at 10:59 of the second period after stopping 13 of 17 shots. Relief netminder Ethan Berard stepped in to earn the win, turning aside nine of the 10 shots he faced over the remainder of the game.
"Sometimes you just don't have it that night and it's no big deal," Mapes said. "We know that Stevie's a rock star and we know that he's going to be good. It's why we didn't pull him after the goal. We waited until the time out and didn't want to make a scene of it."
He added that having two capable goaltenders drives the team to be its best.
Weyburn completely dominated the final 20 minutes.
McNichol put the Red Wings ahead for good just 1:37 into the third period. Jacob Morrison, Ryan Gibbs, and Savage Keller piled on with three more goals to extend the lead to 8-4. Gunner Moore added a late goal for Estevan with three minutes remaining, but the Bruins couldn't close the gap. Estevan goalie Brady Carr took the loss after making 33 saves on 41 shots.
The teams will play the back half of their home-and-home series on Saturday night when the Red Wings travel down to Estevan. Mapes knows there are still details to refine on the defensive side of the puck, particularly on zone entries and exits, but he is optimistic about the team's trajectory.
"We saw a lot of processes tonight that give us success and, when we buy into those, we are going to be very successful," Mapes said.
