The Humboldt Broncos have advanced to the second round of the SJHL playoffs after defeating the Melfort Mustangs in a six-game series that ended with an overtime winner from Justin Lund in the sixth and final game. The Broncos will now take on the Yorkton Terriers, the SJHL's top team, in a series that opens in Yorkton on March 28.
The key moment in the Melfort series came in the fifth game, when the Broncos finally broke through with a 4-2 win on the road. It was a major shift from the first two games in Melfort, which the Broncos lost 8-3 and 6-0.
"We were ready," said Broncos coach Dean Brockman. "We were looser and not as tight. We knew we had to win in there at some point to win the series and the guys really wanted it to be that game."
Despite the key win that put them up 3-2 in the series, there was some bad news that night, as team captain David Stumborg was suspended for a knee-on-knee hit and was unavailable for Game 6. The Mustangs were without David Heath, their captain, who also was suspended for Game 6.
"We couldn't worry about it or control that," Brockman said of the Stumborg suspension. "We lost our guy and they lost their guy. It's fair and we can't be upset."
Even without Stumborg, the Broncos entered the overtime tied at two and with a chance to close out the series on home ice. Lund's winning goal was a product of what Brockman said has always been a key factor in the team's success: getting pucks on net.
"It was a good play by Matt Audette to get the puck in, and a really good play by Logan Schatz to put the puck on net," Brockman said. "Lund drove hard to the net and you have an overtime winner."
The Broncos now have a few days to prepare for the Terriers, a team they went 2-3-1 against during the regular season.
With the exception of a 7-0 loss in late January, the two teams played several close games despite the Terriers finishing with 14 more points.
"They finished well ahead of us in the standings and they're the premier team in the league," Brockman said. "We're going to have to knock off the best."
That includes Chase and Brady Norrish, twins who double as some of the best defencemen in the SJHL. In Brockman's mind the Broncos will have to win low-scoring games to have a chance.
"Their defensive core is the strength of their team with the twins back there," Brockman said. "They're really good. For us it's about containing them and keeping them off the score sheet. We'll have to score by committee and keep things tight.The good thing is we've had lots of 1-0 or 2-1 games this year so we should be used to playing in close games."
The Broncos will unquestionably enter this series as the underdog and it will be critical for them to stay within a goal or two at all times.
"We have to keep it close and then get a late push or goal," Brockman said.
"That's how we'll win."
