Bruins struggle against Nitehawks; need to win all weekend games to qualify for playoffs
By Graeme Willson
The newly renamed Jack Goddard Memorial Arena in Grand Forks was the site for the Bruins’ home ice game against the Beaver Valley Nitehawks. Even though the Bruins lost 6:2, coach Kevin Flather felt his boys outplayed the Nitehawks.
The game almost started out right on target for the Bruins, as they scored the first three goals of the first period. However, things went downhill for the home team when only one goal was recorded. The refs said the first two goals were scored off the side.
The first recorded goal in the first period came with 14:30 left on the clock by Bruins’ Max Newton with an assist from teammate Lincoln Lane.
Several minutes passed as the puck was shot back and forth before a penalty was called against Bruins’ Nathan Corey for high sticking. He received a two-minute penalty with 11 minutes left in period one.
Nitehawks’ Riley Brandt scored the first goal for his team with assists from Dallas Calvin and Taylor Stafford when the clock read 8:14.
The rest of period one was filled with players from both teams rallying for control over the puck. However, there were no more goals scored in period one.
The whistle sounded with only forty seconds left in the period and a two-minute penalty was given to Nitehawks’ Sheldon Hubbard for elbowing.
The first half of period two was all about controlling the puck. Both teams chased the puck around the ice without scoring a goal.
Bruins’ John Skeet got the only penalty in the second period – two minutes for kneeing. The clock read 13:34 when the penalty was called.
Nitehawks’ Brandt scored the second goal of the game with no assists and 9:08 on the clock.
There was only one more goal scored in period two. This one was came from the Bruins’ Ravinder Shokar with assists from Drew Carter and Connor Gross.
The game continued, playing out the clock with a mellow feeling on the ice until the buzzer sounded, ending period two.
Period three’s first six minutes played out uneventfully. The first goal was scored by Nitehawks’ Dallas Calvin when the clock read 13:33. Archie McKinnon assisted.
The first penalty was cited against Nitehawks’ Hubbard with 12:28 left in the game. He received two minutes for tripping.
It was a sombre crowd in the spectator’s stands as the second goal of period three came from the Nitehawks and was scored by Mitch Foyle with assists from Dan Holland.
Another six more minutes dropped off the clock with many more uneventful plays not being completed. Fans sat in the bleachers, compared to last Saturday when there wasn’t a single fan in their seat.
There was a little excitement in period three when the Bruins’ Cam McLennan got a two-minute penalty for high sticking. The Bruins didn’t score any more goals in period three.
The Nitehawks scored two more goals in the game. Their fifth goal was scored by Calvin and was the only completed power play in the entire game. Assists came from Ryan Edwards and McKinnon. The last goal of the game was scored by Brandt with 1:47 on the clock. Edwards and McKinnon also assist with that goal.
Despite the end results, Flather is happy with how his team played.
“I thought our boys outplayed the other team but all the bounces went against us,” he said. He added that the Bruins have to “sweep out” this coming weekend and win all three away games in order to make the playoffs. “We are going to give it our best shot.”
