Broncos’ finish rivals that of last year’s Pats

The cowbells tolled for the Swift Current Broncos, whose exit from the 2018 Memorial Cup was followed by talk of injuries and fatigue.

The host Regina Pats, who did not have to endure the rigours of an extended WHL playoff run, eliminated Swift Current from the CHL’s championship tournament Wednesday by registering a 6-5 victory at the Brandt Centre.

Listening to Broncos head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viveiros detail his team’s injuries — such as Tyler Steenbergen’s concussion, Artyom Minulin’s twice-dislocated shoulder, and Glenn Gawdin’s separated shoulder — the mind flashed back to last year.

In May of 2017, the Pats were in a comparable situation, lamenting the end of a landmark season — which included a franchise-record 52 victories — and referencing key players who, like Gawdin, endured unimaginable pain because the alternative wasn’t even remotely conceivable.

By the time the Pats and Seattle Thunderbirds shook hands after Game 6 of the 2017 final, the Regina team was a battered bunch.

Star forwards Adam Brooks, Austin Wagner and Nick Henry were playing hurt. WHL playerof-the-year Sam Steel, who logged even more minutes than usual due to personnel shortages at centre, was largely spent.

So were the Thunderbirds, who proceeded to lose all three of their games at the Memorial Cup while being outscored 18-3.

The Broncos’ 0-for-3 performance at the tournament was infinitely more respectable. Even though Swift Current was “running on fumes at the end,” in the words of Viveiros, the Broncos lost all of their games by one goal.

The end came in their 101st meaningful game of the 201718 season. Regina, meanwhile, was looking ahead to Friday’s semifinal against the Hamilton Bulldogs.

The past, in this case, included losses to Seattle (last year) and Swift Current (in the first round of this year’s playoffs). Leading up to Wednesday’s game, several Pats players had voiced their desire to exact revenge on the Broncos.

“They sort of said that,” Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock acknowledged. “I think for us as coaches and the team and the guys who were here last year — Sam, Jake (Leschyshyn), even though he didn’t play, (Josh) Mahura — we felt we should have won the league last year and that we were shortchanged.

Steel has proven why he is one of the premier junior-age players on the planet. After the preliminary round, he leads the Memorial Cup in scoring (with 11 points in three games). Steel has produced nine points, all assists, over the past two contests. Wednesday’s five-assist gem tied a tournament single-game record.

Looking refreshed, Steel is playing his best hockey at the best possible time — something that was impossible under last year’s adverse circumstances.

Steel sparkled alongside Henry and Cameron Hebig, who have combined for 23 points (including nine goals) over three games.

A year ago, Henry was awaiting surgery to repair a torn labrum, having played through the injury in the latter stages of a stellar rookie season.