Preview: Bruins vs. Mils

Good morning. The Bruins are back in action tonight when they take on the Melville Millionaires for the third time this season at Spectra Place.

It's the Bruins' first game since trading Chris Daniels to complete the Shea Cooper deal with Portage.

In other roster news, according to Ryan Crosson's twitter account, he's heading to the CJHL's Pembroke Lumber Kings. I'm not sure if that was a cash deal but I'll try to get the word from Keith after practice.

UPDATE: Keith said Crosson remains Bruins property and no deal has been made with Pembroke - apparently Crosson has contacts there - but they are trying to find him a good fit somewhere.

That brings the team down to seven defencemen, although they still have their eye on a few possible options to bring in another vet.

Here's a look at tonight's game.

Estevan Bruins (4-2)

The Bruins are riding a three-game winning streak and they will look to continue that with their third win over the Mils this season. The big line of Neufeld, Olson and Smith continues to dominate (check out the league scoring race - you may want to take a screenshot) but the good news on the weekend was that the team spread out their attack, getting goals from nine different players.

Austin Daae has made a physical impact in his first few games with the Bruins and I'd expect him to start chipping in some offence pretty soon. Josh Jelinski is another guy who's starting to heat up on the scoresheet, and rookie Tanner Froese has three goals so far.

On the back end, Tyler Kauk and Austin Yano continue to be perhaps the most cohesive pairing. Both have played extremely well while learning the ropes and their games complement each other well. Probably safe to say Derek Tendler gets the start tonight after not having played since last Tuesday against Humboldt.

Melville Millionaires (1-3-0-1)

It's been a slow start for the Mils and Saturday's loss in the first game in their new barn couldn't have buoyed their spirits. And, as Craig Stein reported on the weekend, it got worse when stud defenceman Lee Christensen fell in the shower and fractured his face in four places. Still, I maintain that there's a lot of talent on this team without the likes of Sean Aschim and Zach Rakochy, and they'll get it together sooner rather than later.

The biggest problem has been in goal, although 18-year-old Alex Wakaluk has done well since his recent acquisition. Still, the Mils are scouring the market for a veteran goalie. No word on who gets the start tonight.

Perhaps the biggest bright spot has been forward Ian McNulty, who's nearly halfway to last year's total of 19 points already, including five goals. Jesse Mireau is off to a good start, and Melville's getting decent production from their back end. Still, they could use more from the likes of Lucas Froese, Mark Owen, Michael Desjarlais and Roger Tagoona.