Home ice no advantage for Bruins
By Michael Wirischagin
With two months of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) season behind them, the Grand Forks Border Bruins are still searching for their first win of the year after another three loses over the past two weeks of hockey action for the hapless Bears. The Bruins took to the ice on Oct. 21 to take on the Columbia Valley Rockies at home looking to end their winless drought against another team that had not registered a win on the season to that date. Grand Forks outshot the Valley 38-30 in the game and held the lead for a short time in the second period, 3-2, but the Bears ultimately fell again, losing 7-4 to the team from Invermere who were able to clinch their first win of the season. Bright spots for the Border Bruins were Carson McCulloch and Kurtis Coburn who both finished the game with three points, a goal and two assists each. The B’s headed back out on the ice on Oct. 23, this time to face off against a more formidable opponent in the Fernie Ghostriders, once again, on home-ice. Fernie, who has been a top tiered team in the KIJHL for the past several years, peppered the Grand Forks net with 50 shots in the game, scoring 9 times to lead the ‘Riders to the 9-2 win over the B’s. Border Bruin Jacob Bergeron figured in on both of the Grand Forks goals, scoring once while adding one assist to finish with two points. This dropped the Bruins to 0-wins, 12-losses on the season. The Bruins wrapped up their October schedule welcoming the Beaver Valley Nitehawks to the Grand Forks Arena on Oct. 27. Grand Forks held the lead twice in the first period but it was only a matter of time until the Nitehawks’ machine started running, and from there on in, it was lights out for the Bruins once again. B.V. tallied four goals in the first period, two in the second, and another four goals in the third to hand the Bears their thirteenth lose on the season, 10-4. Once again, in amongst the darkness, Bergeron lit it up finishing with one goal and three assists on the game. Bergeron has been the link in the past six goals the Bruins have scored. Bruin Paul Herringer also key in all four B’s goals, mirrored Bergeron’s finish with one goal and three assists. The Grand Forks Border Bruins have officially finished twenty-five percent of their KIJHL season, and sit with a 0-win, 13-loss record on the year. October was a relatively easy month for the Bruins, playing sparsely and playing all of their contests on home-ice. Things are about to change as they only have two home games in the whole of month of November, the first of those coming Wednesday, Nov. 2 against the Spokane Braves.
The two weeks that follow have the Bruins playing all of their games on the road beginning with the Kimberley Dynamiters on Nov. 5 and the Penticton Lakers on Nov. 6. The Bears then take on the Nitehawks on Nov. 10, the Nelson Leafs on Nov. 12, and the Braves on Nov. 13. They round out the next 14 days playing the Castlegar Rebels on Nov. 15.
