Broncos defeat Blades twice
Krane, who was recently added to the Pats line-up following a series of Regina injuries, converted a Josh Mahura centering pass to score in just his fourth WHL game.
Pederson scored both goals for the Broncos. Bronco netminder Taz Burman gave up three goals on 37 shots.
Friday, the Broncos scored five of the final six goals in a 5-3 win over the host Saskatoon Blades.
Steenbergen scored twice, including the eventual game-winner. Rookie import Aleksi Heponiemi also had a goal and two assists for the Broncos, who won for the sixth time in their past seven outings.
Braylon Shmyr had scored twice for a 2-0 Saskatoon lead after one period. Heponiemi and Steenbergen scored in the second period to tie the game 2-2. Conner Chaulk notched his eighth goal of the season early in the third period and Steenbergen counted again to make it 4-2. Evan Fiala cut the Broncos’ lead in half, but Pederson notched a power play goal for the Broncos to restore the two-goal lead. Burman made 33 saves on 36 shots in his 15th win of the season. Brock Hamm took the loss with 23 saves on 28 shots.
The Broncos scored twice on four man-advantages, while the Blades connected for one goal on four power play opportunities.
Saturday, Tyler Steenbergen kept on scoring and the Broncos continued to find ways to win. Steenbergen scored in the first period to become the first player in the WHL to reach the 50-goal plateau this season. That goal helped the Broncos to a 3-2 win over the visiting Blades.
Steenbergen led the WHL with 12 game-winning goals, but it was Lindgren who notched the game-winner with 58 seconds left on the clock to break a 2-2 deadlock that had lasted over two periods.
Lindgren had scored in the first period before Mason Mccarty and Logan Christensen scored quick goals to give the Blades a brief 2-1 lead.
Burman was outstanding in goal with 35 saves for the win. Logan Flodell took the loss with 27 saves.
“It was great,” said Steenbergen after defeating the Blades for the second time in as many nights. “We knew coming in they were fighting for their playoffs lives. We kind of wanted to play spoiler and keeping them from getting that extra point was pretty huge for us. Getting just the win in general was pretty good for us going into the playoffs.”
“We were tired tonight,” said coach Manny Viveiros after watching his team play their sixth game in eight nights. “We showed we were tired tonight, mentally we were very tired. You hate to say it, but in the back of our minds the kids kind of knew we had clinched third place last night. I wasn’t surprised the way the game went and the mistakes we made. I am still very happy we were resilient and we stayed with it and found a way to win a hockey game.”
Steenbergen now has four goals in his past four games to reach 50 goals, a feat no Bronco had achieved since Jeremy Williams during the 200304 season.
“It was nice to kind of get the weight off my back,” said Steenbergen. “But again I can’t score all those goals without my teammates. They’ve been my biggest supporters throughout this whole year. I have to give them all the credit for it. It’s great, but at the same time we want to make noise in the playoffs.”
“It is an incredible season he is having so far,” added Viveiros. “He deserves everything that he has gotten because he puts the work in on and off the ice. It is not by chance or luck, it is by hard work. It is a great example for younger players here watching him play. He is an incredibly skilled kid, but he works at his trade. He has been really good for us.”
Saturday’s game was played before a season-high 2,476 fans as the Broncos have experienced renewed support spearheaded by entertaining hockey, a playoff push, Mayor Denis Perrault, and the local business community.
“It’s been unbelievable,” said Steenbergen. “The fans have been great. Going into the playoffs here they are going to be right on our backs. We want to provide a win for them in the playoffs here. We are hopping on their backs, they are going to be hopping on ours, and we’re going to make a good push for it.”
The Broncos already had a playoff spot clinched but they moved within six points of the Moose Jaw Warriors for second in the East Division with a 37-21-4-6 record. Both teams have four games remaining, including a homeand-away set against one another to conclude the regular season before they square off in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Broncos will conclude the regular season with a home-and-away set against the Warriors this weekend. The Broncos have only one win in four outings against the Warriors. They play Friday in Swift Current and Saturday in Moose Jaw.
Mathematically the Broncos could still catch the Warriors coming out of the weekend, but one Bronco loss or Warrior win would give the Warriors homeice advantage.