Defenceman Einhorn gets his 'Wack

October 09, 2007

Marc Weber - The Province

Bruins 5 Chiefs 3: 17-year-old training camp invitee records assist on top pairing

Talk about a promotion: Chilliwack Bruins defenceman Jeff Einhorn has gone from the mailroom to the boardroom in just over a month.

Einhorn, the unheralded rearguard from Red Deer, Alta., found himself starting his second straight tilt alongside top defenceman Nick Holden on Monday and the 17-year-old not only logged big minutes, he also recorded an assist in Chilliwack's 5-3 win over the Spokane Chiefs that lifted the Bruins to 6-2-0-0.

Nashville draft pick Mark Santorelli scored the winner on a tip-in 4:34 into the third and added three assists for the Bruins to extended his scoring streak to eight games (4-11-15).

But while Santorelli was making noise on the scoresheet, the quiet, steady play of training camp invitee Einhorn had team captain Holden talking afterwards.

"I knew he'd be nervous," Holden said, "but I knew he'd step in and do a great job. He's a player, that's for sure. He supports me very well and it's very easy to play with a guy like that because he's always looking out for you. He talks well for a young kid, and once he gets a little stronger, he'll be a force to be reckoned with."

Einhorn, 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, was a long shot to make the team, but impressed the Bruins brass with his composure and mobility in camp. He has climbed the ladder quickly thanks to a combination of hard work and circumstance, including injuries to blueliners Cam Stevens and Dylan Chapman.

"I'm just living in the moment right now," said an elated Einhorn. "From midget triple A to this is a big jump."

It wasn't like Einhorn was left to figure out the new job on his own.

Having Holden, the Bruins' strapping standout defenceman, a few feet away is like having a training manual in your back pocket.

"It's still overwhelming," Einhorn said, "but I love playing with Nick. It's great. He's just so smooth out there, it's hard to make a mistake."

Chilliwack's top pairing was solid on Monday, but there were lots of mistakes by both teams -- especially in the second period.

Two weak goals staked the Bruins to a 3-1 lead in the middle frame as Spokane goaltender Dustin Tokarski steered Partik Bhungal's 60-footer into his own net, then centre Jadon Potter snapped one through Tokarski's five hole at 9:16.

Chilliwack then took its turn to fall asleep and Spokane quickly climbed back into it with Levko Koper's quick snapper from the slot, tying the game at 3-3 in the final minute of the second.

It was all Bruins in the third, however, including an impressive kill on a four-minute high-sticking penalty after Santorelli put them ahead.

"I thought we really beared down and didn't give them anything," Holden said of a third period in which Spokane mustered just three shots. "We killed that penalty like it was almost nothing."

Oscar Moller, on a pretty solo effort, and Colby Kulhanek also scored for the Bruins while Ondrej Roman and Seth Compton tallied for the Chiefs.