Broncos edge Warriors in playoff preview
It was a meaningless game in the standings, but the Swift Current Broncos’ 2-1 win over the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors gave a sold-out crowd a tantalizing preview of the upcoming playoff series between the same two teams.
The two playoff combatants squared off in a hardhitting, fast-paced contest that had the crowd of 2,890 fans at the Innovation Credit Union iplex on their edge of their seats.
Aleksi Heponiemi brought them out of their seats with 2:25 remaining in regulation when he tapped home an outstanding feed from Ryley Lindgren to give the Broncos the win.
Matt Sozanski had taken advantage of an unlucky bounce to put the Warriors ahead in the first period before Glenn Gawdin tied the game in the second period with his 26th goal for the Broncos.
“That’s just going to set
Othe tone for this playoff series,” said Gawdin, the team’s captain, after the game. “No game is going to be easy and obviously that one was pretty tight until the end there. Hopefully we can do that throughout the playoffs. It was a great atmosphere and a great game by us to just stay patient.”
Taz Burman continued his strong recent play with 34 saves to improve to 18-12-4-1 for the Broncos. Zach Sawchenko took the loss with 21 saves.
“We wanted to set the tone, because this is the start of what could possibly be nine games in a row against these guys,” explained Burman. “We wanted to go out there with the playoffs coming around the corner and we want to be at the top of our game. It maybe didn’t mean anything in the standings, but for us it was still an important game.”
The regular season ended rather unceremoniously on Saturday with a 10-5 loss in Moose Jaw when a severely shorthanded line-up was outshot 53-21.
Bailey Brkin made his WHL debut and stopped 43 of 53 shots in the loss.
Conner Chaulk scored twice for the Broncos, while Lindgren, Riley Stotts, and Mackenzie Wight, with his first WHL goal, all added singles.
Jayden Halbgewachs led the Warriors with four goals and three assists to reach the 50-goal and 100-point plateaus. Sawchenko got the win despite allowing five goals on 21 shots. Brett Howden also had three goals and two asists for the Warriors.
The Broncos concluded the regular season with a 39-23-4-6 record, five points behind the Warriors (4221-8-1). Their best-of-seven opening round playoff series will begin on Friday in Moose Jaw.