Bruins: a tale of two teams
By Michael Wirischagin
Two weeks is all it took for the Grand Forks Border Bruins’ bubble to burst as the team went from contenders to pretenders, and from a team that could score at will to a team that should be writing one. It really is a matter of night and day for the Border Bruins at this juncture in the season, as they have found themselves in a funk that does not appear to be anywhere close to being over. Dating back to Sept. 18, 2010, the Border Bruins were riding a high which culminated with a 6-2 victory over division rival, the Nelson Leafs. Not only had Grand Forks won their first game of the season, they had found themselves out of the conference basement, and had played nothing but competitive games. The Bruins had shown heart and determination and an uncanny will to succeed. The spirits on the bench were high and the on-ice product was outstanding. Through the Bruins’ first five games of the season the team had scored a combined 17 goals and had only given up 20, and had a record of 1-win and 4 losses. Their worst defeat of the season to that point was a three-goal defeat at the hands of the Spokane Braves on Sept. 12, 2010. Since the victory, the Border Bruins have suffered. They have looked like a different team on the ice, and they have not played competitive hockey. They followed up the four-goal victory by being shut out by the Spokane Braves, 9-0. They then went on to lose to the Nelson Leafs 8-3, and to the Beaver Valley Nitehawks, 3-1. The icing on the cake was this past Tuesday, when the Bruins were once again blanked 7-0 to the Castlegar Rebels, in another poor outing. Things are going to have to certainly change, and change soon, for the Border Bruins if they are to right this wrong, and get back to early season form. This is a short season league and following this Friday’s game against the Fernie Ghostriders the season is one-fifth over. This Grand Forks’ team is capable of winning. They just have to get back to what worked earlier in the season, which was playing as a team, and steer clear of what hasn’t – selfish individual play, if they are to turn their season around and return to early season form. Border Bruins upcoming home games (All 7:30 p.m. starts): October 1- Vs. Fernie Ghostriders October 8- Vs. Golden RocketsOctober 15- Vs. Osoyoos Coyotes
