Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League

Day 5 recap: Bruins earn first win, Bombers take first loss at Centennial

The Bruins have life.

Captain Eric Houk notched a hat trick as Estevan (1-2) notched its first victory of the 2022 Centennial Cup with a 6-2 decision over the Superior International Junior Hockey League’s Red Lake Miners (0-3) Monday.

Kade Runke, Caelan Fitzpatrick, and Mark Rumsey added the other goals, and Boston Bilous made 23 stops in the win that kept the Bruins’ hopes of the quarterfinals alive.

Estevan now has two outs to make it to Friday, both depending on the Bruins to win out the rest of the way.

The first route is to see if the Pickering Panthers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League can beat the Alberta Junior Hockey League champion Brooks Bandits on Tuesday at noon in regulation, which would set up a winner-moves-on clash between the Bruins and Bandits Wednesday at 7:30.

The other route is if Red Lake, now eliminated, can defeat the Quebec League champion College Francais de Longueuil, thus allowing the Bruins to jump above them into third with any win over Brooks.

Any loss to the Bandits would eliminate the Bruins.

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Flin Flon (2-1) defenceman Xavier Lapointe scored his third of the tournament but Summerside scored four straight as the Bombers dropped their first game of the Centennial Cup 4-1 to the Maritime League champion Western Capitals Monday afternoon.

Cal Schell was sensational in net in defeat, and stopped 29 often-difficult shots to keep the Centennial Cup’s SJHL participants within reach.

Rookie forward Ethan Anstey added an assist on the goal, his first point of the tournament.

The Bombers have a critical clash with the Manitoba Junior Hockey League champion Dauphin Kings Wednesday as Flin Flon currently sits third in Group B on five points, one behind the Kings and Western Capitals, in the final playoff spot. Ottawa sits fourth on four points.