‘IT’S NOT ABOUT THE GAME ... OUR MINDS ARE ON THE TRAGEDY’
Swift Current is behind the Broncos.
The tragedy-stricken Humboldt Broncos were in the hearts and minds of their namesakes from Swift Current during a weekend that included the opening two games of a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal.
Swift Current’s Broncos evened the series at 1-1 on Saturday by defeating the host Moose Jaw Warriors 4-0 at Mosaic Place.
A convincing playoff conquest is ordinarily a cause for celebration, but these are not ordinary times.
“We said before the game that we’re going to play for (Humboldt), and that’s what we did,” Swift Current head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viveiros said.
“I don’t want to get into details about the game, or anything like that. It’s not about the game. Our minds and our focus are exactly on the tragedy that happened.”
Two hours before the Moose Jaw- Swift Current series began Friday, the Humboldt Broncos’ bus collided with a semi-trailer truck while the SJHL team was on its way to Nipawin for a playoff game against the Hawks. At last report, 15 of the 29 people on the bus were killed.
“We all need some time to absorb what happened,” Viveiros said a day after the accident. “At the end of the day, it’s just a game.”
Viveiros knows that only too well. On Dec. 30, 1986, he lost a former Prince Albert Raiders teammate — Scott Kruger — when the Swift Current Broncos’ bus crashed just outside of the southwestern Saskatchewan city. Trent Kresse, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff were the other players killed in the accident.
“I still remember where I was, to the minute, when I found out what happened,’” Viveiros said. “That’s a long time ago. I was down in Springfield, Massachusetts, playing in the American Hockey League, when I found out.
“Back then, there was no such thing as social media, so we had to wait for a long time to get any details. I’ll never forget that. What a tragedy that was. You never thought that something like that could ever happen again.
“It just shows how precious life is and how precious every day is. It’s an opportunity for us just to be able to come to the rink every day or go home and see your family, your kids. It’s just the things like that that we all take for granted, including myself. It just brings everything into perspective.”
Comparable sentiments were expressed by Warriors general manager Alan Millar, whose team won Friday’s series opener 5-3.
“The responsibility of managing a junior hockey team is a lot more than winning hockey games,” Millar said before Saturday’s game.
“There are much bigger things,” Broncos chairman Trent McCleary added. “It is a game. It’s a sport and it’s very competitive, but real life sometimes gets in the way.”
The emphasis, in the days and weeks ahead, will be on healing. Players with Moose Jaw and Swift Current are grieving, some of them having lost close friends.
“For our organization, it opened up some old wounds,’’ McCleary said. “It has been 31 years since our bus accident, where four players lost their lives.
“It’s tragic. We have an inkling of what Humboldt is going through right now. It’s a tough time for their players, their families, their organization, but we’re all here to support them.”