The 2024/25 Kootenay International Junior Hockey League season is underway for the Grand Forks Border Bruins following a three-day main camp over the Labour Day weekend. The team has played a pair of exhibition games, with three more to come before the regular season gets underway on Sept. 20.
The Bruins were fielding a full roster of 25 players at the conclusion of their main camp, but have added four more over the last week through either players returning from camps in other leagues or trades within the KIJHL, bringing the current exhibition roster to 29.
Exhibition season opened for the Bruins last Wednesday with a road trip to Nelson. While both teams played a mix of veteran players and rookies, the Bruins owned the game.
Returning goaltender Matthew Dovichak was in the net for the Bruins and, with extensive support from the forward and defense lines who kept Nelson at bay, only faced 12 Leafs shots and stopped them all for a shut-out. Dovichak played the entire game, while Nelson swapped goaltenders near the 30-minute mark as is often seen during exhibition play.
Grand Forks had five goals from veteran players, Jace Koole, Tyler Burke, Nate Tillmanns, and Russell Kosec (2), along with three from rookies Justin Mol, Ashton Schram, and Hunter Paterson.
On Saturday night, the home town fans got their first opportunity to see the exhibition team at work, with the first of a home-and-home series against the Osoyoos Coyotes.
Bruins coach Dave Hnatiuk again mixed his lines, pairing veterans and rookies to measure the chemistry and skill levels amongst the new and returning players.
The Bruins again controlled much of the game, scoring six before allowing the first Coyotes goal almost 40 minutes into the game.
Kosec opened the scoring for the Bruins with his third of the preseason eight minutes into the game, and Levi Astill added a short-handed goal at 16:46.
Rookies Tyson Carter and Brandon Gray added Bruins goals in the second, then the Bruins power play kicked in and Theo Naidu and Justin Mol added another pair of goals to put the Bruins up 6-0. With just 15 seconds left in the period, Kyle Cyr scored a power play goal for the Coyotes.
The Bruins added two more in the third, with second-goals of the game for Astill and Gray (PP), but in the final minute Garrett Kurtz scored another for the Coyotes to make the final score 8-2.
Russell Newman, in his first start in net for the Bruins, stopped 29 of 31 shots and delivered a solid performance for the night.
With two back-to-back eight-goal games, the Bruins are showing a willingness and ability to put pucks in the net, while their defensive lines and goaltending are keeping their opponents from having the same opportunities.
It remains very likely that, throughout the league, the teams you see now in the preseason may be very different from the teams that take the ice on September 20 for the start of the regular season, with teams continuing to evaluate players and making roster moves, but the team that has been assembled for Grand Forks thus far is looking very good and has provided some very entertaining hockey for both home and away fans.
The Bruins travel to Osoyoos on Wednesday night for a rematch against the Coyotes at the Sun Bowl, and then will be in Castlegar Friday night for their first meeting with the Rebels. Castlegar travels to Grand Forks this Saturday night for the Bruins final preseason game, at the Jack, 7 p.m. start.
The regular season gets underway on Sept. 20, with the Princeton Posse in town, and a pre-game tailgate party will be hosted in the arena parking lot that afternoon.
Hockey season is back in Grand Forks, and initial impressions are that it's going to be a great one! Seasons tickets are still available at Work 'n' Play.
