It was undoubtedly one of the most exciting preseason games in recent memory for the Weyburn Red Wings. Although they fell 2–1 to the visting Estevan Bruins, the game provided plenty of excitment and gave fans their moneys worth on the final home ice tune-up before the home opener on September 14.

The fireworks started early and appeared often with 250 penalty minutes handed out in total to both sides. After the dust settled 10 players were given game misconducts and some suspensions could definitely be handed down. 

Just under halfway through the first period Connor Pyne and Tanner Manz got the party started when they dropped the mitts. But on the same sequence Sean Olson and Jake Heerspink got into it, which resulted in Heerspink dropping the gloves and suckerpunching Olson twice. That got both teams and the crowd at Crescent Point Place into the game.

On the ensuing 5-on-3 powerplay Ben Hiltz finished off a nifty passing play, with Ty Brown and Jordan Kazymyra drawing the assists. On the same powerplay however, Matthew Chekay poked a loose puck past everyone and was off to the races shorthanded where he made no mistake beating Riley Lamb on a breakaway. 

The teams would settle down and play a tight checking defensive battle for the rest of the period, before things really got crazy in the second. 

Tristan Petrie and Garrett Szemerley were both tossed from the game with fighting majors – both winning their respective fights. While 16-year-old Alex Von Sprecken was the lone man getting ejected from Estevan, after he was manhandled by the 20-year-old Petrie. Szemerly alone was issued seven minutes in penalties, with Estevan unable to capatalize on the extreme man advantage. All in all, there was 110 minutes of penalties given out in the period.

With just under three minutes to go in the middle frame, an innocent looking play saw Olson collide with Bruins goalie Matt Lukacs. The Bruins understandbly came to their goalies defence, but Olson was given a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. 

Just 21 seconds after the questionable call, Michael McChesney tipped a point shot past Lamb that would be the game-winner. Other than a redirection and a breakaway, Lamb looked stellar and composed in the the crease in his first and likely last start of the preseason. 

More rough stuff in the third led to the ejections of Estevan players Bronson Adams and Austin King-Cunningham. 

If this matchup is any indication, then it appears the Highway 39 rivalry is alive and well. The teams will meet a total of nine more times this season, with the next matchup coming tonight down in Estevan to put a cap on the exhibition games. 

This version of the Weyburn Red Wings appears to have a lot of skill and a nice combination of grit and physicality. With now under a week away until the home opener at Crescent Point Place, the excitment and buzz continues to build around a team that has the potential to make a run in the SJHL this season.