The Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings came out firing on all cylinders last night as they entertained the Estevan Bruins in preseason action. Keenan Ingram would tally twice, and Angelo Zol was nearly flawless in net as the Red Wings topped the Bruins 4-1.
"At the end of the day, it is a rivalry, preseason or not," said head coach Cody Mapes after the game. "It was great. Good to always win, but, you know, proud of our guys for standing up for each other."
The standing up for each other really showed in the third period, as the two teams combined for a total of 90 minutes in penalties, including a fight with just seconds to play.
"It's not necessarily about the fight, it's the standing up for each other," Mapes said of the late-game shenanigans. "That goes a long way, not just in the hockey game, but when you look across the dressing room at your partner, and you know he's going to go to war for you. That goes a long way."
In the 19 minutes and 53 seconds before the scrum, the Red Wings dominated much of the play, starting late in the first period. Keenan Ingram would score his 4th of the preseason with 5:54 to play in the period, assisted by Jonah Bierd and Lucas Schmid. Then, with 1:06 to go in the first, Ingram would find the net again, this time assisted by Samuel Masse and Felix Laflamme.
In the second, Weyburn would extend the lead even further, as Luke Dekay scored 8:55 into the frame. His second of the preseason was assisted by Carson Castro. Then, just over a minute later, Liam Donovan netted his fourth of the preseason, with Ingram and Ty McKay getting the assists.
At the other end, Zol would be tested 27 times by the Bruins, with Estevan's lone goal coming 8:54 into the third. The goal, which many fans thought shouldn't have counted due to goaltender interference, was scored by Kaelen Whittingham, with Yoan Gagnon and Rory Elson getting credit for the assists.
So far this season, the duo of Zol and Dazza Mitchell have allowed just one goal in nine periods of hockey.
"We believe that we have, if not the two best goalies in the league, two of the top three," Mapes said of his goaltending pair. "For those guys to be rolling the way they are to start the year here, you know, it's pretty good."
The intensity of the game started to ramp up in the dying moments of the third, and it boiled over when a scrum broke out with 6.3 seconds left to play. It started when Estevan's Tej Dhaliwal gave a shove to Dekay as the two were heading off on a line change. Dekay responded with a cross-check, and then Weyburn's Simon Martin dropped the gloves with Estevan's Chase Holt, while Dhaliwal got tangled up with Weyburn's Jonah Bierd.
"Usually that's not part of my role, but you've got to kind of do whatever you need for the team, right?" Martin said of the decision to drop the gloves. "So, I'm willing to do what it takes."
Having to determine which penalties to hand out as a result of the scrum was a familiar face to Red Wings fans. Former Weyburn captain Mike Eskra, who played with the team from 2014 to 2018, was one of the two referees assigned to the game, his first ever at the SJHL level.
The tensions are sure to carry over to create an electric atmosphere in Estevan tonight as the two teams meet up to close the preseason. The Red Wings, though, will be focused on continuing to gel as a team heading into the preseason.
"We've got a really good group of guys," Martin said of the locker room. "We all kind of have a good chemistry between us, and a good team culture in the room. It's a great team to be a part of, and it's showing up to the rink every day. It's a good group to be a part of, so it's always a fun time to play with these boys."
After the game Saturday, Mapes and his staff will get the opening day roster set for the first game of the 2024-25 regular season next Friday in Yorkton against the Terriers. The Terriers will then come down to Weyburn on the 22nd for the home opener at Crescent Point Place.