Broncos limp through winless road trip
The Swift Current Broncos were unable to earn a single point during a twogame road trip as injuries continue to plague them.
Friday, the Broncos suffered their worst defeat of the season in a 7-0 loss to the host Calgary Hitmen. The Hitmen got goals from seven different skaters and Mack Shields made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season.
Landon Bow took the loss after he allowed three goals on 13 shots in the first period to fall to 20-16-1-4. Travis Child worked the final 40 minutes and made 25 saves on 29 shots.
All seven goals were scored at even strength as both teams finished zerofor-five on the powerplay in front to 9,982 fans at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Broncos lost star defenseman Dillon Heatherington during Friday's loss. He will miss four to six weeks with an upper body injury. He joins injured defenseman Jordan Harris and overage forwards Coda Gordon and Carter Rigby on the sidelines.
Saturday, an injury riddled Broncos team returned home without a weekend win after losing 52 to the Kootenay Ice.
Missing four key players due to injury, the Broncos suffered the fifth loss in the past six games. The Ice led 2-1 after one period and 3-2 after two periods before scoring the only two goals of the third period to improve to 25-22-0-1.
DeBrusk scored both goals for the Broncos and now has 27 goals on the campaign. Bow took the loss with 30 saves on 35 shots to drop to 20-17-1-4. Wyatt Hoflin turned aside 22 of 24 shots for Kootenay.
The Broncos dropped to 21-22-1-4 to remain third in the East Division, three points ahead of the Moose Jaw Warriors.
The Broncos were also in Brandon Tuesday to face the Eastern Conference leading Wheat Kings. Check swbooster.com for results.
The Broncos will play a home-and-away set against the Saskatoon Blades this weekend, beginning Friday in Swift Current and concluding Saturday in Saskatoon.
The Broncos have five of a possible six points in the season series so far with regulation and overtime victories and a shootout loss to the Blades.
Gawdin leads the Broncos with eight points in three games, while DeBrusk and Brett Lernout each have five points against the Blades.
Broncos Bits: the Broncos finished the week with a 14-7-0-2 record at home and a 7-15-1-2 record on the road. The Broncos powerplay has dropped to eighth in the WHL at 22.2 percent. They lead the league on the powerplay at home at 32.9 percent but only operate at 12.8 percent on the road. The Broncos continue to lead the WHL in penalty killing at 87.1 percent. They have allowed a league low 21 powerplay goals against in 163 shorthanded situations.