Hofer leads Broncos past Pats
The Swift Current Broncos opened a seven-game home stand with two games over the weekend, highlighted by a shutout win over the Regina Pats.
Friday, the Broncos opened the weekend with a 5-3 loss to the visiting Portland Winterhawks. Joel Hofer kept the Broncos in the contest with 43 saves, but the Winterhawks were too much for the young Broncos in the end.
The two teams combined to score five goals in the first period, including three from the Winterhawks to carry a lead to the dressing room. Lane Gilliss scored 2:13 in for an early Portland lead that lasted past the midway point of the period when the two teams combined for four goals over 7:25.
Ethan O’rourke tied the game for the Broncos, but Joachim Blichfeld and Michael Kvasnica responded for a two-goal Portland lead.
Matthew Culling quickly responded with his eighth of the season and sixth goal in the past seven games when he snapped home a high shot to the short side.
Ethan Regnier tied the game 2:46 into the second period when he blasted a one-timer into the top of the net for his seventh goal of the season.
Jayden Dureau gave the Winterhawks the lead for good 7:28 into the third period when he scored on a three-on-one with a perfect shot to the top corner. Jake Gricius added an empty net goal to close the scoring.
Saturday, Joel Hofer stopped all 46 shots he faced to lead the Broncos to a 1-0 win over the Regina Pats.
The 18-year-old goaltender earned his first shutout of the season to end the Broncos’ fourgame losing streak.
“I was just seeing the puck,” said Hofer. “I was tracking it well. I was making good reads out there. The team played really good in front of me. They made some key blocks and I am glad we got the win.”
The Broncos opened the scoring with a power play goal 10:31 into regulation. Ethan O’rourke tapped a puck off the post from in close, but Carter Chorney shoveled home the ensuing loose puck for his 10th goal of the season.
The Broncos lost forwards Ben King and Tanner Nagel to injury in the first period and neither returned.
“We just kind of brought it all together and worked together,” said Chorney of the team’s effort without two key forwards. We just kind of put our heads down to the grind and came out with the win.”
Hofer improved to 6-21-2-1 with his second career shutout. Max Paddock made 23 saves to fall to 8-18-1-1.
“It feels pretty good,” said Hofer. “The guys played really good in front of me. The guys stepped up big after Nags and Kinger went down. It was a real character win tonight and I am glad we could get it done.”
The Broncos improved to 8-28-2-1, while Regina dropped to 12-26-1-1.
“It felt great. Coming back home and getting that win it means a lot to the boys and a lot to the team,” said Chorney.
“It shows a lot of character of the group,” said head coach Dean Brockman. “We could of quit. At times it was ugly, but guys made some sacrifices and found a way to get it done.”
The Broncos power play has struggled most of the season, but they did score the only goal on the man-advantage, despite having to juggle their personnel with Nagel and King out of the line-up.
“I thought we moved the puck better through the seams. We certainly did a better job. We put Billy [Sowa] out there and he did a great job with it. It’s getting better. It’s not where we want it to be, but the game winner was a PP goal,” said Brockman.
Hofer finished the weekend with a WHL leading 1,136 saves.
“He’s the core of our team. He’s always there night in, night out. Everyday he’s always there. It means a lot to have him,” added Chorney.
Brockman was unsure how the injuries would affect the team going forward. The Broncos had announced earlier in the day that they had signed forward Kye Buchanan and that he would be joining the team for the duration of the season.
“To be honest with you I don’t know,” said Brockman. “We’ll just kind of assess it and see how bad the injuries are. I think Kinger is going to be quite some time. We’ll just see what Nags is. It’s trade deadline, so it’s better before the deadline than after.”
The Broncos are now 6-112-1 at home this season as they continue their sevengame home stand with three games in four days, beginning Saturday against the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds finished the weekend with a 12-20-4-0 record and will be playing their sixth game in nine days to conclude their East Division road trip.
The Broncos will also host the Brandon Wheat Kings on Sunday at 4 p.m. The Broncos have one win in three attempts against the Wheat Kings this season.
The Broncos will get a visit from the Kootenay Ice on Tuesday. The Broncos lost the only previous meeting 2-1 in a shootout on October 30.