The final of Saturday night’s Chase Heat-Grand Forks Border Bruins game in Midway was 8-3, with the locals coming out on the winning end.
While there was no scoring in the first, the floodgates opened for Grand Forks in the second period and the team never looked back.
Connor Gross, Nathan Cory, Brandon Savaia, Connor Bowen, Jacob Jeske, Jackson Purvis, Coleton Dawson and Connor Kidd scored for the Border Bruins while Robert Dunsmuir stopped 32 of 35 shots to earn the win.
“It was definitely nice, we were firing on all cylinders and I don’t think Chase put its best foot forward,” explained Nick Deschenes, head coach and GM of the Border Bruins. “So that combination, a good crowd, a good environment in Midway, we ended up scoring eight goals so it was nice for us to start connecting,”
Jeske (four points on the night) and Purvis (three points) were the first and second star selections respectively and Jeske has certainly made an impression since joining the team in early-November – he has nine points in six games with Grand Forks.
“Right now he’s pretty confident,” Deschenes said of
17-year-old Jeske. “He’s a younger player but he’s fitting in really well with Connor Gross and Jackson Purvis, so as a line, they’re pretty strong so that’s a big key to his
success right now.”
The eight goals by the team is not only the highest offensive output by the team this year but over the past few seasons, a testament to the team’s desire and work ethic according to the coach.
“It’s tough to score goals but it’s even tougher if you’re not hungry and not doing the right things to score goals and we were doing the right things so that was the end result,” said Deschenes.
Unfortunately, the team wasn’t able to carry any momentum to a road game against the Spokane Braves on Sunday afternoon and lost 6-4.
Savaia, Purvis (with a pair) and defenceman Chase Anchikoski scored for Grand Forks in that game.
Dunsmuir started in net again, as Dominic Stadnyk was suffering with a lower body injury. Deschenes said he’s day-to-day and should be good for games this coming weekend
“We really needed to beat Spokane, that’s a given, and we just lacked in a lot of areas (Sunday afternoon) but things are moving forward and it’s business as usual,” Deschenes said.
The team also lost 6-4 to the Castlegar Rebels last Thursday with Dawson, Bowen, Brendan Enns and Gross scoring for Grand Forks.
Stadnyk stopped 40 of 46 shots that game.
The Border Bruins play a home-and-home series with the Nelson Leafs, with a game in Grand Forks on Thursday and one in Nelson on Friday. The team then hosts
Kimberley on Saturday.
