麻豆视频

When the Power Dodge Estevan Bruins hosted Game 3 of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League鈥檚 semifinal series with the Battlefords North Stars on Monday night, some fans were saying that they had never seen Affinity Place so full for a Bruins game.

More than 1,700 fans attended the game. And while there were some empty seats in the arena bowl area, one has to remember that hundreds of fans were occupying the standing room areas, and the private boxes above the arena bowl.

Affinity Place was even closer to capacity during Tuesday night鈥檚 game, when more than 1,900 fans were present. They were hoping to see the Bruins sweep the North Stars and advance to the league final for the first time since 1999.

It didn鈥檛 happen, but nobody can deny the excitement associated with a 9-6 game.

There are times in which there have been more fans to watch the Bruins play. The reported crowd size for the first game at Affinity Place in 2011 was 2,000 people. And there have been nights in which the spectator count has been around 2,000, but those crowds were swollen by massive giveaways for local school students, or fans who were there because season ticket holders were looking to use their punch cards for the final game of the regular season.

The bonus for the club is that the 50-50 winner received more than $7,500 on Monday night, and more than $9,500 for Tuesday night. The Bruins, of course, received the other half.

The revenues are equivalent to more than 1,200 adult tickets being sold for a regular season game.

Fans have been waiting a long time for the Bruins to have a contending team. Their 19-year drought without appearing in the league final has been the longest in the league. This year marks just the third time they have made it to the semifinal round since 1999.

Last year was one of those times they have reached the semifinals, but they were dominated by the North Stars and swept in four straight games.

There have been lots of good teams in Estevan since 1999, but not many great teams.
So you can understand why fans were eager to attend Games 3 and 4 this week, and why they鈥檒l be anxious to attend any remaining playoff games.

The Bruins have made considerable strides since Chris Lewgood became the team鈥檚 head coach and general manager in 2013. Lewgood has brought stability to the organization. With the exception of his second season, the club has improved each year.

And in recent years, the Bruins have been among the highest-scoring teams in the league.

They haven鈥檛 always won, but most nights they have played entertaining hockey.

It鈥檚 been great to see so many people at Affinity Place. We look forward to seeing Affinity Place packed when the Bruins have their home games in the SJHL final.聽

Hopefully the support will continue beyond this season.聽