The U18 AAA Estevan Bears faced a tough challenge over the weekend, dropping both games to the Tisdale Trojans.
Saturday’s game ended in a 6-2 loss, while Sunday’s contest was a closer 5-4 defeat.
Head coach Ryan Pilon said he remains optimistic despite the losses, noting that the team performed well overall.
“We need to keep the puck out of our net a little more and shore up some of our d-zone,” Pilon said. “But all the reports we got back from the two games [showed] we outplayed them a lot, outshot them a lot, and had puck possession over them. So it’s just a matter of getting to the inside, getting to the hard areas, and shoring up our D-zone.”
On Saturday, the Bears were down 2-0 after the first period and trailed 4-1 after the second. Estevan’s lone goal in the second period came from Gunner Moore.
The Bears fought hard the next day, jumping to a 3-1 lead after the first period.
“We got off to a hot start in the second game, with Kobe Wotta and Cooper Flath leading the charge,” Pilon said. “Cam Allard had a big second game with four assists for us.”
The Bears eventually lost the game 5-4.
The weekend marked a return to action after a two-week break, caused by rescheduled games due to weather. Pilon said the layoff had a limited impact on their performance.
“On the positive side, we got a lot of ice time in,” he said. “On the negative side, two weeks off is a long time to be away from game situations. We tried to simulate that as much as possible in practice and keep up our game shape during the break.”
The Bears will head to Yorkton on Wednesday to face the Maulers. Estevan won their previous matchup 5-3 in October.
“Yorkton always works hard and plays an in-your-face style of hockey,” Pilon said. “We just have to manage our emotions and match their work ethic. If we do that, our skills should take over, and we’ll need to capitalize on our opportunities.”
The Bears will then host the Swift Current Legionnaires on the weekend. It will be a chance for redemption, as the Legionnaires won both previous meetings, 9-0 and 6-5.
“We owe them a couple, obviously, with that tough loss and them scoring in the last minute to win the second game,” Pilon said. “They took care of us on their ice, and now we need to do the same on ours.
“We need to shore up our D-zone, be harder to play against, and capitalize on our opportunities when we have them. It’s all about getting back to that winning mentality we had at the start of the season.”