Broncos win twice on home ice
The Swift Current Broncos added two more home wins last week in the Western Hockey League, beginning with a 6-3 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers on Tuesday.
The Broncos scored the only goal of the opening frame when Tyson Laventure kept the puck on the rush and fired home his eighth goal of the season to extend his point streak to 13 games.
The Broncos took the lead early in the second period when a quick transition pass from goaltender Reid Dyck led to a breakaway for Brady Birnie and his seventh goal of the season. Gavin Mckenna quickly replied for the Tigers when he finished off a two-on-one pass with a backhand deke for his eighth goal in 15 games this season.
The Broncos added a power play goal when Laventure found a rebound in the crease and swept it into the open goal for his second of the game.
The Broncos closed things out with three goals in the third period, beginning with a shorthanded goal from Caleb Wyrostok to make the score 4-1. The Tigers replied with goals from Cayden Lindstrom and Tyler Mackenzie to cut the lead to one goal. Rylan Gould replied for the Broncos with a power play goal and Ryan Mccleary added an empty net goal to seal the win.
Reid Dyck improved to 8-4-0-0 with 34 saves before leaving in the final minute with an injury.
Evan May fell to 1-2-0-0 with 19 saves on 24 shots.
Friday, the Broncos concluded the six-game home stand with a 5-2 win over the Regina Pats. Gould launched the annual Teddy Bear Toss with his seventh goal of the season midway through the first period on a rebound opportunity.
Clarke Caswell and Josh Filmon scored in the second period for a 3-0 lead.
Keagan Slaney and Jaxsin Vaughan replied for the Pats early in the third period to make it a onegoal game. Owen Pickering quickly answered for the Broncos and Petr Pavelec added his first WHL goal late to close the scoring.
Joey Rocha earned the win with 28 saves for the Broncos in his first start since Oct. 28. Ewan Huet made 46 saves for the Pats.
Saturday, the Broncos were unable to duplicate their home success against the host Saskatoon Blades in a 4-1 road loss.
Mccleary scored the only goal in the second period to cut a 2-0 deficit
in half.
Egor Sidorov led the Blades with a pair of highlight reel goals. Brandon Lisowsky and Trevor Wong also scored.
Rocha took the loss with 37 saves.
The Broncos emerged from the weekend in sixth spot in the Eastern Conference with an 11-10-1-0 record. They
are 8-3-1-0 at home, but have only three wins in 10 road games this season.
The Broncos only game this weekend is on Friday when they visit the Moose Jaw Warriors. They will visit the Warriors again on Tuesday.
The Broncos will host the Medicine Hat Tigers again on Wednesday.
Bronco Bits: The Broncos dealt for 19-year-old goaltender Matthew Kieper on Saturday. They sent a 2024 third-round pick and a 2026 ninth-round pick to the Kamloops Blazers for the 6’2’’ Winnipeg product. Kieper is a veteran of 68 WHL games with the Regina Pats and Kamloops Blazers.