Editor's note: Updated with quotes from head coach Nick Deschenes.
The Grand Forks Border Bruins halted a nine-game losing streak with a 3-2 road win over the Chase Heat on Sunday afternoon.
Newcomer Monty Chisholm opened the scoring, while Coleton Dawson and Jacob Jeske also scored for the Border Bruins and goalie Robert Dunsmuir made 48 saves on 50 shots.
The win was a welcome relief for head coach and GM Nick Deschenes and team given the slump, which included a pair of lopsided shutout losses to Castlegar and Beaver Valley the week previous.
“The win is important for the team,” Deschenes explained. “We got the goaltending we needed and played a simple game. Dunsmuir came up huge. I’ve said it all year, we need our goaltender to be our best player.”
Chisholm and Adam Sturch (who was named the game’s second star) both came from Kamloops Midget Tier 1 and the new blood gave an injection of energy.
“We are short staffed so the new players added to our numbers as well they provided somewhat of a morale boost,” Deschenes said. “We were a team of 20 players playing for the same reason.”
On top of Dunsmuir’s play, the team was also good with the man advantage, going two for four on the power play (pp) – Dawson and Jeske’s goals came with the Border Bruins on the pp.
“We have good personnel and they’ve been executing well,” Deschenes said when asked about the team scoring on 50 per cent of its chances.
The team lost 5-2 against the North Okanagan Knights on Friday and 8-3 to the Kamloops Storm on Saturday and in order to get the Border Bruins’ game on track, Deschenes declined to comment specifically on those games.
“Sometimes that’s what it takes for us to learn,” he said.
The Border Bruins played the Rebels in Castlegar last night and the score wasn’t available as of press time.
The team’s next home game is this Friday against the Revelstoke Grizzlies.
There will be a fundraiser for the team on Jan. 30 as Mystery, Alaska, starring Russell Crowe, will be showing at 7:30 p.m. at the Gem Theatre. Advance tickets available at hockey games, the Gem Theatre and Thistle Pot Gifts.