Bruins kick off Conference finals with a win

Roger Varley

In the claustrophobic confines of the Frankford arena Saturday night, a handful of Bruins fans watched their team outscore the Frankford Huskies 5-2 to win the first game of the best-of-seven PJHL Eastern Conference final.

The Bruins and the Huskies, the Orr Division and Tod Division champions respectively, wear almost identical uniforms and even the team logos are quite similar. And they appeared evenly matched in their first game.

The game opened with a shock as the Huskies scored just 12 seconds after the opening whistle. But Jack Kemp replied for the Bruins just three minutes later, assisted by Kyle Butt and Tanner Ryan. Ryan took a penalty late in the period, leading to a power-play goal for the Huskies but Tucker Roberts evened the score again on a delayed penalty call. Butt and Cameron Meek assisted. The Huskies game plan in the first period appeared to be to swamp the Uxbridge net as much as possible.

As has become almost a habit, the Bruins were not as sharp in the second period, including being unable to convert a 37-second two-man advantage near the midway mark. Frankford scored again late in the period but it was ruled No Goal because the puck was knocked in the net with a high stick.

The Bruins took control in the third period, courtesy of Jordan Fitger who scored two goals in the space of a minute. His first was assisted by Tyson Lotton and Jack Kemp and his second came on a long pass from Ryan. Kemp was credited with another assist. Finally, with the Huskies' goalie removed for an extra attacker, Butt took a pass from Ryan Shier and skated in for an empty net goal.

The two teams were scheduled to resume their series at the Uxbridge arena Tuesday night. Other games are slated for Frankford tonight (Thursday) at 7 p.m., at the arena on Friday night at 7:45 p.m. and, if necessary, back in Frankford on Sunday night.