PHOTO: Wanda Harron Photography
The Innovex Estevan Bears have started December the same way they dominated November: scoring goals, winning games and climbing the SMAAAHL standings.
The Bears entered last week on a 10-game point streak and after three more contests, including a showdown against the league-leaders and defending national champions, the streak is now extended to 13 games (10-0-1-2). And while top performers like Gunner Moore and Brendan Jones continued their strong play, other forwards are now making a significant impact in the team’s success.
Boston Schmidt has had a very productive season already, but had his best week as a U18 AAA player against the Regina Pat Canadians and Yorkton Maulers. Schmidt had 3 points (1G,2A) in Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime defeat to Regina, and carried that into Friday’s 8-1 victory over Yorkton where Schmidt led the way with 5 points including a hat trick. For the season, Schmidt now leads the Bears with 19 goals and his 35 points trails only Moore (43) and Jones (36) for the team-lead.
While Ethan Boehm didn’t pile up as many points and those three top forwards, the first-year Bear came through in the clutch in two of the games this week. On Tuesday, Boehm scored off a rebound with less than six minutes left in regulation against Regina to make it 3-3 and helped force overtime, keeping the team’s point streak alive. Then after getting two points (1G,1A) in Friday’s 8-1 win, Boehm sniped the overtime winner in the Bears’ 4-3 victory over Yorkton on Saturday night at Affinity Place. Boehm now has 4 goals during his personal 5-game point streak (4G,2A).
INSTAGRAM LINK: BOEHM OT WINNER
Other highlights from the three games this week that saw the Bears earn 5 of 6 points:
– Both Evan Hutcheon and Jaxon Kuchinka earned a win against Yorkton, with Kuchinka’s 25-save effort on Saturday getting the goaltender his first career U18 AAA win.
– 15-year-old Defenceman Kobe Deck scored his first career U18 AAA goal on Saturday night. With Deck’s goal, every skater on the Bears’ roster now has a goal this season after only 25 games.
– Though Dylan Brass saw his 9-game point streak end on Saturday, he still tallied five points (1G,4A) in the first two games of the week. Brass had 16 points (7G,9A) during that 9 game stretch.
– Gunner Moore had six points (1G,5A) this week and now has 43 PTS on the season, good for 4th overall in league scoring entering play on December 7th. Moore’s 30 even-strength points tie him with Regina’s Malaki Martin for the overall league-lead.
– Bears’ defencemen chipped in offensively this week with goals from Deck, Van Huebner, and Kayson Anderson. Anderson had three points (1G,2A) on Friday and has tallied 13 points (1G,12A) during the team’s current 13-game point streak.
The Innovex Estevan Bears play two more games before the Christmas break, travelling to Regina on December 13th before hosting the Notre Dame Hounds on Tuesday, December 16th at Affinity Place.
