Broncos win final game of U.S. road trip
The Swift Current Broncos were only able to bring back three of a possible 10 points home from a gruelling five-game road trip through the Western Hockey League’s U.S. Division.
Tuesday, the Broncos scored twice on the power play, but lost 4-2 to the host Seattle Thunderbirds.
Brady Birnie and Mathew Ward scored for the Broncos. Joey Rocha took the loss with 39 saves on 42 shots.
Thomas Milic made 29 saves for Seattle. Lucas Ciona and Jared Davidson each scored twice for Seattle, the fourth ranked team in the Canadian Hockey League at the time.
Wednesday, the Broncos allowed five power play goals in a 6-1 loss to the host Tri-city Americans. The Broncos finished one-for-eight on the power play, while the Americans also had eight power play attempts.
Josh Davies scored the only goal, his 15th of the season. Reid Dyck took the loss with 24 saves on 34 shots.
Tomas Suchanek made 30 saves for the Americans. Jake Sloan and Ethan Ernst each scored twice for the home team. Jordan Gavin and Adam Mechura also found the back of the net.
The Broncos concluded their road trip with a 3-1 win over the host Spokane Chiefs on Friday.
Connor Hvidston scored the opening goal 5:44 into the first period. Call-up Ty Coupland scored the eventual game-winner midway through the opening stanza. The 2022 draft pick scored a power play goal in his second Western
Hockey League game.
Birnie added an insurance goal in the second period as the Broncos snapped a four-game losing streak.
Rocha earned the win with 24 saves on 25 shots to improve to 6-2-0-1.
The Broncos finished the week in ninth spot in the Eastern Conference with a 23-21-1-2 record. They were only four points back of Calgary for sixth place with the Regina Pats and Medicine Hat Tigers in between.
The Broncos will host the Prince Albert Raiders on Friday and then return the visit to Prince Albert on Saturday. The Broncos have won both previous meetings in the season series. The Broncos will also visit the Brandon Wheat Kings on Tuesday and the Eastern Conference leading Winnipeg Ice on Wednesday.