Electric atmosphere in Estevan during Centennial Cup

There’s a buzz in the city of Estevan this week during the Centennial Cup.

For the first time in the hockey tournament’s history, 10 teams are competing to become junior A national champions. In past years, just five teams would compete for the title.

Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig said he can feel the energy as the city hosts an event on the national stage.

“It’s a very exciting time in the city of Estevan, with the 10-team tournament and the players from all over Canada,” Ludwig said.

Ludwig said local businesses are reaping the rewards throughout the week, and says the timing is perfect coming out of the pandemic.

“All of our businesses are very busy, the hotels are full, the restaurants are overflowing and our businesspeople couldn’t be happier,” he said.

“The timing couldn’t be better. Our businesspeople were hungry, and this gives them the opportunity to get busy again and provide full employment for their staff. Everybody is just so upbeat.”

Ludwig said the atmosphere at Estevan’s Affinity Place has been top-notch.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to see quite of the few teams play. It’s a very good calibre of hockey. One of the better teams would have to be the Brooks Bandits; it’s a pleasure to watch them,” Ludwig said.

“The fans are so excited with the fact that the Bruins are in it, and every time the Bruins play, it’s a capacity crowd. The crowds are very good for all the other teams as well, but of course, the Bruins’ home crowd is packed.”

This month, the Bruins were crowned SJHL champions for the first time since 1999 after defeating the Flin Flon Bombers in a seven-game series.

“That was such an exciting series with Flin Flon,” Ludwig said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such an exciting series.”

But despite being crowned league champions, the Bruins haven’t had as much success on the national stage.

Estevan dropped its tournament opener 5-3 to Collège Français de Longueuil and fell 10-5 to the Pickering Panthers. The Bruins got into the win column with a 6-2 victory over the Red Lake Miners, but were officially eliminated from playoff contention.

Estevan will take on the defending champions from Brooks in its final game of the tournament.

Even though the Bruins came up short of the playoffs, Ludwig said the fans are proud of what the team was able to accomplish.

“Although we didn’t go as far as we would have hoped, it was still an exciting time and we’re just so happy with the Centennial Cup,” he said.

Meanwhile, it’s been a different story for Flin Flon so far in this tournament.

The Bombers opened the tournament with a dominant 6-1 win over the Soo Thunderbirds. Keeping their momentum rolling, the Bombers sketched out a 3-2 win in overtime over the Ottawa Jr. Senators.

After dropping a 4-1 decision to the Summerside Western Capitals, the Bombers got right back into the win column with a 2-1 shootout win over the Dauphin Kings.

The Bombers have already punched their ticket to the playoff round, where they’ll try to bring home a national championship.