Estevan’s junior hockey team made the trip to Nipawin on Friday, driving some of the same highways the Humboldt Broncos rode exactly one week ago.

The Bruins were en route to the north-central Saskatchewan town ahead of what will be game one of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League championships Saturday and took the time to stop at the crash site where several Broncos players and personnel were killed.

The site, at the intersection of Highway 35 and Highway 335, about 30 kilometres south of Nipawin, has been marked by a memorial of flowers, signs and hockey sticks since the crash April 6.

Several Bruins players, all in team gear, stood silent in front of the memorial after their bus arrived. Some knelt. Others laid flowers. All took a moment to hug a few first responders who were on scene paying tribute to the crash victims.

Only the rumble of the Bruins’ bus broke the silence.

The Humboldt team was travelling to Nipawin for the fifth game of their semifinal series against the Hawks when the team bus collided with a semi at the intersection.

Ten Broncos players, two coaches, an athletic trainer, the team’s play-by-play announcer, a volunteer statistician and the bus driver died as a result of the collision. Several others were injured.

The Hawks led the best-of-seven semifinal series 3-1 when the Broncos boarded the bus to travel to Nipawin the day of the crash, while the Bruins closed out their semifinal series against the Battleford North Stars the previous day.

The SJHL announced earlier this week the playoffs will continue, with the blessing of the Broncos organization.

The decision was unanimous among the league’s 12 teams.

The first game of the best-of-seven series between Estevan and Nipawin is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

--- with files from The Canadian Press