The Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings extended their point streak to 13 games and their winning streak to five games after shutting out the Estevan Bruins 3-0 Saturday night. The win also gave the Red Wings the edge in the annual Highway 39 Cup, taking the first game in the season series between the two clubs.
"There's a lot of emotion and stuff with these games and with a lot of new guys on both sides I think it took a little while to get heated up," said Red Wings head coach Cody Mapes after the game. "I think by the end the local kid kind of serves a spark to the rivalry and so it was good."
The Red Wings controlled much of the play in the game, holding Estevan to just seven shots over the first 40 minutes of the game, with the Bruins finally managing to muster some pressure in the third period when they put 13 shots on Dazza Mitchell. By the end of the night, the Red Wings netminder had made 20 saves for the shutout, his first of the season and fifth of his career.
"After four years being here, it always feels good to beat the Bruins," Mitchell commented. "Tonight, the boys made it super easy for me. "Did a good job keeping them to the outside, and then in the third, they put on the pressure but the boys were there to help me out and cleared pucks really good."
Teddy bears rain down as Red Wings' fans celebrate
The game was also the Teddy Bear Toss game, with a cascade of stuffed animals making their way onto the ice when Weyburn scored their first goal of the game. That goal would be scored by Turner McIntyre on the power play 8:34 into the game. The tally was McIntyre's third of the season and was assisted by Ethan Dekay and Max Chakrabarti.
After that goal, Estevan netminder Kyle Kelsey would stand on his head for the Bruins through the rest of the first period, the entire second period, and most of the third.
Kelsey would face 33 shots in total, stopping 31 of them.
The only other goal allowed by the Estevan netminder was in the third, nearly 40 minutes after the first goal when Max Chakrabarti scored his fifth of the year. He took a saucer pass from Jerome Maharaj and one-timed it into the net, popping the water bottle up on the Estevan goal. The other assist on the goal scored 8:37 into the frame went to Dekay.
With the Estevan net empty, Weyburn's Braigh LeGrandeur would poke the puck free from Estevan's Kieran Ronan at the blue line, and chased after it, putting it in with 2:10 left to go in the game to make it 3-0.
Local boy Lacoste fuels rivalry in Red Wings' victory
On the ensuing face-off, the feel of the rivalry returned when Weyburn's Wyatt Lacoste dropped the gloves with Estevan's Chase Holt after a slash when the puck was dropped.
"He asked me, I'm like, why not?" Lacoste said of the fight, noting that as a kid growing up in Weyburn, the rivalry games between the two teams were always exciting with a lot of physical play.
"We got that last year, which was really good," Lacoste added about the Highway 39 Cup. "Me personally, being a hometown boy, (the win tonight) feels unbelievable."
Red Wings to honour Weyburn Legion with special jerseys on Monday
Now, the Red Wings will prepare for the Melville Millionaires, who come to town for a matinee game Monday afternoon. The game will also feature special Red Wings jerseys honouring the Weyburn Legion, something that is important to Mapes.
"One of the things that we've really strived for since my time here was being able to give back to the community, and last year we were able to do something for The Family Place, and we're looking for something different to give back this year," Mapes noted. "With the Legion trying to have repairs to their building and that kind of stuff, it was an opportunity for us to help then, and we're involved with them a little bit throughout the year, and so for us to be able to do these third jerseys and auction them off here on Monday and help them raise some money, that is going to be great."
The game on Monday at Crescent Point Place starts at 4 p.m.