Midget Broncos complete perfect regular season
The Swift Current Abbey Resources Broncos completed a perfect regular season in the Saskatchewan Midget AA Hockey League in fitting fashion with a 4-1 win over the Notre Dame Argos on Friday.
The Broncos got out to a nervous start during a scoreless opening period. They outshot the upset-minded Argos 50-11 over the final 40 minutes for a 58-18 final total as they simply wore down the opposition with depth and a heavy fore-check.
Defenseman Ryan Mccleary scored twice and Brock Oberle and Cash Arntsen added singles as the Broncos finished with an incredible 36-0 record. Brad Nyen earned the win with saves.
“Overall it is awesome,” said Mccleary. “We grinded the whole year. A lot of work, a lot of close games and we just got it done.”
“It is amazing for them,” said head coach Todd Hornung. “It’s a little bit surreal. We just talked that we almost lost game one in Yorkton, so there’s a lot of things that have to come together for us to get to this stage and go undefeated. I am so proud of the boys and happy for them. They’ve put in so much time. It is a complete team effort all the way through our line-up.”
Team depth at every position was the main reason the Broncos were able to win all 36 games.
“Yeah we’ve got three strong lines on forward and three strong pairings of D. We just overwhelm teams over and over. We just pound them into the ground,” said Mccleary.
The Broncos may have been slowed by nerves in the opening period before pouring it on over the final 40 minutes.
“For the first time I think they kind of became aware of the pressure of trying to go undefeated,” admitted Hornung. “But as far as carrying on into playoffs, I think this is a good scenario. I think Sunday we can just start fresh and it a whole new season for us.”
The Broncos got out to a quick start against the Melville Millionaires in the opening round of the playoffs with wins on Sunday and Monday.
Sunday, the Broncos got goals from five different skaters in a 5-2 win over the visiting Millionaires to open the playoffs. The Broncos scored twice on the power play while directing 47 shots on goal.
Levi Lamotte and Ryland Hornung each finished with a goal and an assist. Mccleary, Arntsen, and Quinn Patenaude each finished with two assists. Beau Larson, Matt Christianson, and Nathan Mcinnis also scored. Nyen picked up the win in goal with 14 saves.
Monday, the Broncos followed up with a 7-3 win to take a stranglehold on the series. Hornung led the way with two goals and an assist, followed by three assists from Mcinnis. Arntsen scored twice, while Larson and Patenaude each added a goal and an assist. Kaden Floberg, Lamotte, and Oberle each added two assists. Riley Skarbon also scored, while Levi Brewer added an assist. Nyen picked up another win in goal.
Game three of the best-of-five series will be Saturday in Melville.