Rebuilding Broncos rally for huge OT win over Blades

Joona Kiviniemi celebrates scoring the OT winner for the Broncos.

    Tanner Nagel said a big comeback win was a great thing for the youngsters on the rebuilding Swift Current Broncos to experience.

    Nagel, who is the Broncos overage captain, is the only holdover that was a regular on Swift Current’s WHL championship winning team last season. During that run to the WHL title, Nagel got to experience many thrilling victories including a number of the comeback variety.

    Now, the Broncos are a team that has 10 players in their 17-year-old seasons and two in their 16-year-old seasons on their 23-person roster. On Saturday night at the SaskTel Centre, the youthful Swift Current side experienced a rare high in a campaign where the team has trudged along in last place in the entire WHL.

    Trailing the host Saskatoon Blades 4-2 with five minutes remaining in the third period, the Broncos roared back to pull out a 5-4 overtime victory before 3,637 spectators.

Tanner Nagel scored twice for the Broncos on Saturday night.

    In the extra session, Broncos Finnish import left-winger Joona Kiviniemi one-timed home a set up pass from rookie defenceman Alex Moar with 3.4 second remaining in the frame to deliver victory to Swift Current. The Broncos improved to 10-34-2-1 with the win.

    “We have a lot of young guys in the room, so it is great to see them push back in games where we are down,” said Nagel, who scored twice for the Broncos on Saturday. “That is what we are trying to focus on is just teaching them that you have to keep playing right until the bitter end.

    “You are never out of a game. We showed that here tonight.”

Alex Moar set up the Broncos overtime winner on Saturday night.

    Down 4-2, the Broncos comeback started when Nagel scored on the power play sniping home a shot to the low right side of the Saskatoon goal to cut the Blades edge to 4-3 with 4:39 remaining in the third period.

    Broncos head coach and director of hockey operation Dean Brockman pulled netminder Riley Lamb for an extra attacker with about three minutes remaining in the third. Swift Current kept the play bottled in the Saskatoon zone with the extra skater.

    With 1:35 remaining in the stanza, Broncos 18-year-old right-winger Owen Blocker snipped the equalizer past Blades netminder Dorrin Luding to force a 4-4 tie.

    In overtime, both sides had numerous scoring chances before Kiviniemi ended it.

The Broncos celebrate an equalizer from Owen Blocker, right.

    Lamb turned away 48 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Broncos. Luding made 19 stops to take the extra time setback in goal for the Blades, who sit third overall in the WHL with a 29-13-7 mark.

    One night earlier, the Blades dumped the Broncos 5-2 in Swift Current.

    “Any time you win it is a good day,” said Brockman, whose Broncos beat the Blades for the first time this season in six tries on Saturday. “Certainly, they out-chanced us and had a lot of shots.

    “I give our guys a lot of credit. We challenged them after (Friday) night’s game to be better and work hard and they did. That is what you do when you work hard you find ways to get success.”

Goalie Riley Lamb makes one of his 48 saves for the Broncos.

    The Blades got out to a quick start. Just 38 seconds into the contest, right-winger Max Gerlach sprung left-winger Gary Haden in on a breakaway and Haden buried his 21^st of the season to give the host side a 1-0 edge.

    The Broncos evened things up a 1-1 just under three minutes later, when Nagel banged home a rebound for his first goal of the game off a shot taken by defenceman Christian Riemer.

    With 58.7 seconds remaining in the first period and Saskatoon working on the power play, Blades overage offensive defenceman Dawson Davidson scored on a point shot that just snuck under Lamb to give the host side a 2-1 edge going into the first intermission.

Dawson Davidson scored for the Blades on Saturday night.

    At the 6:04 mark of the second, the Broncos tied things up at 2-2 scoring their first short-handed goal of the campaign. The shorty came when Swift Current centre Ethan O’Rourke blocked a point shot taken by Blades 16-year-old rookie left-winger Kyle Crnkovic.

    The puck shot out to the centre ice zone, and O’Rourke tracked it down and skated into the Saskatoon zone on a breakaway. He tucked home his eighth goal of the season to get the Broncos on even terms for a short time.

    Saskatoon jumped back out in front 3-2 just under four minutes later thanks to a power-play goal coming off the stick of centre Eric Florchuk.

    Before the second period expired, left-winger Cyle McNabb potted his fifth goal of the season to give the Blades a 4-2 advantage.

    The Blades outshot the Broncos 16-4 in the third period but couldn’t prevent the Broncos comeback dramatics late in the frame and in overtime.

Ethan O’Rourke pots a short-handed goal for the Broncos.

    When Nagel scored late in the third to cut the Blades lead to one goal, Brockman hoped the comeback would indeed be on from that point.

    “This is a team where they’ve always had their backs up against the wall all year,” said Brockman. “Nobody expects us to win a game.

    “I want to give our kids a lot of credit. They were pretty resilient and stayed with it and found a way.”

    Nagel was excited about the final result.

    “Winning is awesome,” said Nagel. “It is the best feeling in the world.

    “It doesn’t matter if it is a game tonight or it is the WHL championship. A win is a win, and I love to win. Anytime you can win a game it is awesome.

Eric Florchuk (#17) had a power-play goal for the Blades.

    “Any time you can come from behind and win a game that is an even better feeling. The young guys showed resilience and the team showed resilience top to bottom. We’re feeling pretty good.”

    The Blades are off until Friday, when they travel to Regina to face the Pats at 7 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

    The Broncos return to action on Wednesday, when they host the Calgary Hitmen at 7 p.m. at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex. Nagel said Saturday’s comeback victory will be a big time help to his team going forward.

    “Any time we get the young guys going and playing hard like this, it is great to see them keep chugging along,” said Nagel. “They are learning as we go.

The Broncos celebrate their win on Saturday night.

    “I think every time we put up a good game it just helps them learn a little more.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Heckling part of life in major junior hockey

Raspberry treatment can hurt worse depending on situation

Giorgio Estephan in action for the Hurricanes in the 2017 WHL playoffs.

    For as long as major junior hockey has existed or junior hockey for that matter, heckling has been part of the game, and it will be part of the game for the foreseeable future.

    Depending on the situation, the raspberry treatment can hit deeper to the core.

    When the Swift Current Broncos and Lethbridge Hurricanes advanced to meet each other in the best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference championship series, one of the big plot lines that came to mind revolved around a blockbuster trade the two teams made with each other on Jan. 9, which was one day before the WHL’s trade deadline.

    In that deal, the Hurricanes sent star overage captain Giorgio Estephan, star 19-year-old netminder Stuart Skinner and winger Tanner Nagel, who turned 20 in late January, to the Broncos.

    In exchange, the Broncos sent overage star netminder Logan Flodell, rookie centre Logan Barlage, who turned 17 in early January, sophomore centre Owen Blocker, who turned 18 in late March, sophomore defenceman Matthew Stanley, who turned 20 in early February, a first round selection and a third round selection in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft and a future conditional second round pick in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft to the Hurricanes.

    The on ice battle has been intriguing. The Broncos entered the series as favourites having finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 48-17-5-2 record, while the Hurricanes were 16^th overall with a 33-33-6 mark.

    The Broncos lead the series 3-2 taking all three games held in Swift Current by a one-goal margin each time out. The Hurricanes won both contests held in Lethbridge by respective 5-1 scores. Game 6 is set for Monday at the Enmax Centre in Lethbridge with a 7 p.m. local time start.

    The other main compelling story has been the fact Estephan and Skinner have been the targets of heckles during the games held in Lethbridge. Social media lines have contained sizable debate about the treatment both players have received in their former WHL home rink on whether it is warranted or not.

Stuart Skinner in action with the Hurricanes in 2017.

    As far as Hurricanes fans are concerned, there are some that say Estephan and Skinner shouldn’t be heckled and others are fine with what has gone down.

    I remember a visit I once had with former Saskatoon Blades owner Jack Brodsky. He told me that the fans paid money for the ticket, and if they don’t like the product they see on the ice, they have a right to “boo” or voice their displeasure with the product. The context of that visit did focus on the hometown fans being critical of the home team.

    For myself, I am good with fans booing or heckling players on the ice. I realize the players can range in age from the 15-year-old call up to the overager that just celebrated his 21^st birthday. Major junior is supposed to help prepare players for life in the professional ranks, and dealing with hecklers is part of that training too.

    If you don’t learn how to deal with that in rinks with 5,000 spectators, how do you deal with that in professional rinks with 18,000 spectators?

    Historically in major junior hockey, there have been players who have relished being the villain in opposition rinks like Sean O’Connor when he played for the Moose Jaw Warriors, Tanner Shultz when he played for the Blades or Derek Dorsett when he played for the Medicine Hat Tigers. They are looking forward to the hecklers on the road.

    Of course, there is a line. Fans shouldn’t do anything that physically harms a player, yell something derogatory based on race or scream you wished a certain player was dead.

    In the case of Estephan and Skinner, it feels like an unwritten code of respect has been broke. Of course, hockey is full of unwritten codes.

    Both were selected in the WHL Bantam Draft by the Hurricanes and played in Lethbridge for an extended time. Estephan, who was picked fourth overall in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft, was with the Hurricanes for four-and-a-half seasons, and Skinner, who was selected 17^th overall in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft, played there for three-and-a-half seasons. They were in Lethbridge long enough to establish lifelong connections.

    On top of that, both joined the Hurricanes during a dark era, when the team missed the playoffs for six consecutive seasons from 2009-10 to 2014-15. After the Hurricanes went 12-55-2-3 in the 2013-14 season, it seemed a death watch was surrounding the team. The Hurricanes existence in Lethbridge was called into question at times.

Giorgio Estephan in action for the Broncos in this year’s WHL playoffs.

    Lethbridge was not a prime destination in the WHL, and it seemed like players that were there couldn’t wait to leave.

    Things started to change when the Hurricanes hired Peter Anholt as the club’s assistant general manager before the start of the 2014-15 campaign. The veteran coach and hockey executive became the team’s head coach and general manager halfway through that campaign.

    Before the start of the 2015-16 season, he stepped back as head coach and made the inspired move to hire Brent Kisio for that role.

    On the players’ front, Estephan and Skinner were part of a group along with former Hurricanes captain Tyler Wong who wanted to be part of the solution in turning the team around. They played a huge part in helping the Hurricanes top the Central Division in 2015-16 with a 46-24-1-1 record.

    In 2016-17, they helped the Hurricanes post a 44-21-4-3 mark to sit seventh overall in the league. They helped the Hurricanes win two seven game series in the playoffs to advance to the WHL Eastern Conference championship series falling to the Regina Pats in six games.

    Wong graduated after that campaign, and Estephan and Skinner worked to assist a reloading Hurricanes club during the first half of this past season. They were not asking to be traded, and when an opportunity to make the deal with the Broncos came about, the Hurricanes gained players that could help in the present along with players and assets to be of aid in the future.

    Both Estephan and Skinner are pretty good persons too.

    Skinner sounded off on the Hurricanes fans following the Broncos 5-1 loss in Lethbridge in Game 4 last Wednesday. For everything they did in Lethbridge, the fan heckles Estephan and Skinner received in their playoff return to Lethbridge felt at least uncomfortable.

    Fans have the right to boo and give the raspberries to who they want, but in this case, it feels wrong. It feels like an unwritten hockey code was broken.

Stuart Skinner in action for the Broncos in this year’s WHL playoffs.

    In another case, netminder Tyler Brown backstopped the Pats into the WHL Championship series last year, where they fell in six games to the Seattle Thunderbirds. He was dealt by the Pats to the Blades in a blockbuster trade on Jan. 10.

    Brown had been the target of distain from a sizable group of Pats fans on social media and sports talk radio, when the team hovered around .500 for the first half of the season. When Brown returned to Regina with the Blades on Jan. 24, he was given a standing ovation and a video tribute.

    Of course, the big difference was Brown never did play against the Pats in the post-season.

    When the playoff series between the Broncos and Hurricanes wraps up, here is hoping the Lethbridge fans that got on both Estephan and Skinner remember what they did do for the Hurricanes and tip the cap to both whey they return to Lethbridge in the future.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Broncos to experience déjà vu with Hurricanes

WHL Eastern Conference finals foes made major trade on Jan. 9

Broncos RW Giorgio Estephan will see some old friend in Lethbridge.

    Giorgio Estephan isn’t sure what it will be like to face a team he used to lead about four months ago in a high stakes series.

    The Edmonton, Alta., product, who turned 21-years-old in early February, started the 2017-18 WHL campaign as the captain of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He spent the first four-and-a-half seasons of his career in the major junior ranks with the Hurricanes before he was dealt to the Swift Current Broncos in a blockbuster trade on Jan. 9.

    Now, Estephan’s Broncos will battle the Hurricanes in this year’s best-of-seven Eastern Conference championship series. Game 1 is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current. A year ago, Estephan played a key part in helping the Hurricanes reach the Eastern Conference Championship series ultimately falling in six games to the Regina Pats.

    “Anytime you’re going back to a place where you’ve played pretty much your whole career, it is definitely going to be interesting,” said Estephan, who had 30 goals and 56 assists in 69 regular season games split between the Broncos and Hurricanes in the 2017-18 campaign. “I have a billet dad there and he is pretty much my second dad.

    “My girlfriend is from there. It will definitely be an interesting series. This is definitely one that I will get a little bit more for sure.”

    Estephan won’t be the only player seeing familiar faces. In that blockbuster deal on Jan. 9 that came a day before the WHL’s trade deadline, the Hurricanes also sent star 19-year-old netminder Stuart Skinner and winger Tanner Nagel, who turned 20 in late January, to the Broncos.

Broncos G Stuart Skinner used to be Hurricanes mainstay.

    In exchange, the Broncos sent overage star netminder Logan Flodell, rookie centre Logan Barlage, who turned 17 in early January, sophomore centre Owen Blocker, who turned 18 in late March, sophomore defenceman Matthew Stanley, who turned 20 in early February, a first round selection and a third round selection in the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft and a future conditional second round pick in the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft to the Hurricanes.

    Skinner, who posted a 30-21-4 record, a 3.07 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and six shutouts in 56 regular season appearances split between the Broncos and Hurricanes in 2017-18, spent the first three-and-a-half seasons of his WHL career in Lethbridge, and his links run deep in that community as well.

    “I have tonnes of friends there, and I know a lot of fans,” said Skinner. “Obviously my billets, Shannon and Peter Stewart and their three kids, it is going to be fun playing in front of all of them.

    “I might not say hi to them after the first game but maybe after the second game just so I can get my rest. It is going to be a lot of fun.”

    Both teams were trying to accomplish different goals, when they made their trade on Jan. 9. The Broncos were having a stellar regular season ultimately finishing second overall in the league with a 48-17-5-2 record and were looking to further bolster their roster for a long playoff run.

    The Hurricanes came off a stellar 2016-17 campaign and appeared to be going through a reloading phase and ultimately finished 16^th overall in the league with a 33-33-6 record. They made the trade to acquire youth and some draft selections.

    The Broncos first eliminated the Memorial Cup hosting Regina Pats, who finished seventh overall in the regular season, and then the Moose Jaw Warriors, who topped the league’s regular season standings, in respective seven game series to reach the Eastern Conference Championship series.

    The Hurricanes first took out the Red Deer Rebels, who finished 17^th overall in the WHL, and then the Brandon Wheat Kings, who finished eighth overall, in respective five game series to return to the Eastern Conference finals for a second straight year.

Tanner Nagel (#25) was dealt to the Broncos by the Hurricanes.

    In the WHL playoffs, the teams are bracketed to play through their division in a modified format that contains two wildcard entries.

    Since the trade between the Broncos and Hurricanes, the two teams met once in the regular season back on Feb. 2 in Lethbridge, and the Hurricanes rolled to a 5-2 victory. Swift Current claimed the three previous head-to-head encounters before the Jan. 9 deal.

    “I visualized about this since the trade,” said Skinner. “They told me that they were going to meet in the Eastern Conference finals.

    “I didn’t doubt it. They are a good hockey club. I know them really well.

    “I am really excited to play against them, and I’m excited to see what we can do. I am sure it is going to be a lot of fun, and it is going to involve a lot of emotions. I’m super excited for it.”

    Estephan also said his former teammates in Lethbridge told him the two sides would meet in the conference finals. He will not take anything away from the run his old club is on.

    “We played them our last time in Lethbridge, and they spanked us,” said Estephan. “They are a good team.

    “They are a fast team, a young team who has nothing to lose. They are playing like it, and they’ve steam rolled through two rounds.

    “They are a good team that we definitely have to watch out for and can’t take for granted for sure.”

    Broncos captain Glenn Gawdin said playing old teammates who are now with the Hurricanes should add some intrigue to the series.

    “It is kind of crazy how things worked out,” said Gawdin. “Just the way it ended up, obviously we are playing them.

    “It is going to be a good rival. Both teams are going to try to prove that we got the better end of it.”

Glenn Gawdin believes the Hurricanes will be a tough foe for his Broncos.

    Broncos head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viveiros thinks it is neat the way the playoffs have unfolded with his club meeting the Hurricanes for a conference title. He believes the series will be a good one.

    “When we made that deal with Lethbridge, it was for us to give an opportunity to get through our side, because our side was a real difficult side,” said Viveiros. “I am not surprised they got through too, because they are a good hockey team.

    “We had to give up some really good hockey players to get good hockey players. It is going to be a little bit weird at first. When it is all said and done, the kids that we have now they are Swift Current Broncos now.

    “The kids that we moved over to Lethbridge they are Lethbridge Hurricanes now. It is going to make for an interesting series.”

Hunter believes Warriors are moving forward

The Warriors salute their fans at Mosaic Place on Monday.

    In stepping back to look at the big picture, head coach Tim Hunter was pleased with how the 2017-18 campaign played out for his Moose Jaw Warriors.

    For the first time in team history, the Warriors finished first overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 52-15-2-3 record and were rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings. With the WHL’s East Division playing out as one of the toughest divisions the league had seen in some time, the Warriors faced a couple of big challenges in the playoffs.

    The Warriors claimed a tough seven-game series in the first round against a physical and skilled Prince Albert Raiders side, who finished 14^th overall in the league with a 32-27-9-4 record. Moose Jaw proceeded to bow out of the post-season in a tough and physical seven-game series against the Swift Current Broncos, who finished second overall in the WHL with a 48-17-5-2 mark.

    Looking at the Warriors history, Hunter referenced the fact this season marked only the fourth time in history the club topped a division dating back to its origins in Winnipeg, Man., in the 1980-81 campaign. Since the start of the 2012-13 campaign, the Warriors have won two playoff series and missed the playoffs for three straight seasons from 2012-13 to 2014-15.

    “(It was) a great regular season for us,” said Hunter. “We put two banners in the rafters here that are few and far between in this organization over the years.

    “It is a great stepping stone. You don’t become a great organization overnight. I think we are heading in the right direction for this organization to be better in the future.

Tanner Jeannot was one of the Warriors star overage players.

    “There are lots of prospects here, and there are lots of good young players who will be back next year. This organization will have a good team at the end of next year.”

    The Warriors dropped Game 7 of their series to the Broncos 6-0 on Monday night before 4,765 spectators at the 4,414 seat Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw. Hunter said a number of players on his team finished out playing with a lot of injuries which contributed to the lopsided outcome in their final game.

    “It is human nature to be frustrated when you don’t win and you are not in the game from the get go,” said Hunter. “I am sure the players are just as frustrated.

    “It is just one of those nights that didn’t go right. To win in the playoffs, everything has to go right, and it didn’t for our team. We played 14 really hard games, and we were really banged up.

    “It is tough to play and have confidence when you are not 100 per cent, and we weren’t.”

    Monday’s loss marked the final outing for star overage forwards in Jayden Halbgewachs, Tanner Jeannot and Brayden Burke.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Estephan’s hat trick pulls Hurricanes even with Tigers

The Hurricanes celebrate Giorgio Estephan’s first goal.

    MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – Giorgio Estephan was the feature attraction of an impromptu 80s night at the Canalta Centre in Medicine Hat.

    The standout centre fired home a hat trick and collected an assist to help his visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes outgun the host Medicine Hat Tigers 7-4 before 4,513 spectators on Saturday night in Game 2 of a best-of-seven WHL Eastern Conference semifinal series. 

    With the win in a high-scoring 1980s style clash, the Hurricanes even the series at 1-1. Game 3 is set for Tuesday at 7 p.m. Alberta time at the Enmax Centre in Lethbridge.

    The setback was also a first in the 2017 post-season for the Tigers, who swept away the Brandon Wheat Kings in four games in the opening round of the playoffs. The Tigers took Game 1 of the series with the Hurricanes 4-0 on Friday night at the Canalta Centre.

    Estephan was pleased his Hurricanes were able to wrestle away home ice advantage from the Tigers. The Hurricanes have defeated the Tigers in six of the last seven encounters at the Enmax Centre over the past two seasons.

Giorgio Estephan had a hat trick and an assist for the Hurricanes.

    “It (the Canalta Centre) is a tough barn to win in too,” said Estephan. “Anytime that you can split a series (of two games on the road) in the playoffs, especially not having home ice advantage, it is a big thing for us.

    “Coming back into our barn with a lot of fans, I think is definitely exciting for us.”

    For a while on Saturday, it appeared the Tigers and Hurricanes were doing their best to burn out the scoreboard at the Canalta Centre.
    The Tigers stormed out to 2-0 lead, when right-winger Zach Fischer scored 20 seconds into the contest and added a second tally at the 2:23 mark of the opening frame. Overage left-winger Steven Owre picked up assists on both of Fischer’s goals.

    Before the nine-minute mark of the opening frame could roll around, Estephan netted his first goal of the game and right-winger Alec Baer scored 27 seconds after that tally to force a 2-2 tie.

    At the 11:10 mark of the first, Tigers right-winger Ryan Jevne scored on a backdoor setup on a power play to put the hosts up 3-2. Before the opening frame ended, Hurricanes overage captain Tyler Wong capitalized on a Tigers own-zone giveaway to tie things up at 3-3.

Tigers right-winger Zach Fischer takes a high shot from a Hurricanes player.

    “We struggled the first game, so we kind of knew that we had to come back stronger,” said Estephan. “We definitely did that today.

    “We didn’t really start the greatest we wanted to, but to kind of show the resiliency like we did to pull out this win, it is definitely something huge.”

    The Tigers jumped back in front 4-3 at the 6:03 mark of the second, when centre James Hamblin tipped home a shot from linemate Max Gerlach. Just over two-and-a-half minutes later, centre Dylan Cozens, who was selected by the Hurricanes in the first round and 19^th overall in last year’s WHL Bantam Draft, potted his first career WHL playoff goal to force a 4-4 tie.

Captain Tyler Wong had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes.

    With 7:09 to play in the third, the Hurricanes took their first lead of the game, when Estephan scored on a power play to give the visitors a 5-4 lead. The Edmonton product said the key to that goal was staying focused when the play got in close on Tigers netminder Michael Bullion.

    “It was a great play from Tyler Wong in the middle to kind of get it out to me wide,” said Estephan. “I tried to get it upstairs.

    “I didn’t get it high enough, but there was a rebound. It kind of just poked through (Bullion’s) legs, and it was sitting behind him. I just tapped it in.”

    Estephan completed his hat trick scoring into an empty net with 1:25 to play in the third shortly after a Tigers power play expired. Tanner Nagel scored an empty-net short-handed goal with 48.6 seconds to play to round out the scoring for the visitors.

    Bullion turned away 19 of 24 shots to take the loss in goal for the Tigers. Stuart Skinner turned away 26 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Hurricanes.

Steven Owre picked up two assists for the Tigers.

    Saturday’s game also contained a number of elements that showed the Highway 3 rivalry is alive and well between these two clubs, which operate in cities that are about 170 kilometres apart from each other. Hurricanes defenceman Brennan Menell took a double minor penalty in the first period for spearing Tigers left-winger Matt Bradley, and that infraction will trigger an automatic review by the league for a possible suspension.

    Fischer engaged with Hurricanes right-winger Zane Franklin in a spirited fight late in the second period, and both sides threw a number of hard hits.

    “It is a rivalry,” said Estephan. “We’re only an hour and a half away.

    “There are a lot of fans coming back and forth, and it is definitely exciting to play in front of them. It definitely gets you fired up to play in the next game.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.