Hofer leads Broncos to first win
The Swift Current Broncos finally earned their first win of the season and it came at an opportune time just prior to their BC Division road trip.
Friday, the Broncos stayed within striking distance for most of the game, but ultimately lost 4-1 to the visiting Spokane Chiefs to drop to 0-7 on the season.
The Chiefs fired 24 shots on net in the first period and took the lead when Eli Zummack tipped home a point shot with 1:50 left in the period.
The Chiefs doubled their lead in the second period when Carter Chorney tipped home another point shot for the only goal of the second period.
Jake Mcgrew added his fifth goal of the season to give the visitors a 3-0 lead in the third period. Noah King got the Broncos on the board late in the contest with his first goal of the season. Riley Woods scored into an empty net to close the scoring for the Chiefs.
Former Bronco netminder Bailey Brkin earned the win with 28 saves to remain unbeaten on the season. Isaac Poulter fell to 0-2 with 44 saves on 47 shots for the Broncos.
Saturday, Joel Hofer made 53 saves to lead the Broncos to their first win of the season. After seven consecutive losses, Hofer made 53 saves over 65 minutes and then stopped both players in the shootout in a 3-2 win over the host Brandon Wheat Kings.
Hofer stopped Stelio Mattheos and Burzan, while Alec Zawatsky and Max Patterson both scored for the Broncos in the shootout.
Mattheos scored both goals to give the Wheat Kings a pair of leads. Zawatsky scored in the second period and Andrew Fyten scored with 7:43 remaining in regulation to force overtime.
Ethan Kruger took the loss with 30 saves on 32 shots.
The Broncos were zero-for-five on the power play, while Brandon scored once on seven man-advantages.
The Broncos improved to 1-7-0-0, while the Wheat Kings dropped to 5-01-1.
The Broncos are currently in British Columbia on a five-game road trip. They visit the Kamloops Blazers on Friday, the Prince George Cougars on Sunday and the Kelowna Rockets on Tuesday.
The Broncos next home game will be on October 27 when they host the Everett Silvertips in a rematch of last year’s WHL Championship Final.
Bronco Bits:
the Broncos announced last week that they had released forward Colum Mcgauley. The Nelson, BC product was pointless in two games this season. He had two points in 47 games with the Kelowna Rockets last season. The Broncos also announced on Friday morning that they had acquired defenseman Garrett Sambrook from the Brandon Wheat Kings for a conditional ninthround pick in the 2020 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft. The 18-year-old had three assists and eight penalty minutes in seven games with the Virden Oil Capitals in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League this season. Sambrook has 10 points in 70 games over parts of three seasons with the Wheat Kings. The Broncos had announced on Wednesday that they had released defenseman Sam Pouliot. The trade leaves nine defenseman on the roster, including injured import Artyom Minulin.