Scoring has been an issue for the Humboldt Broncos all season, an Achilles heel that has long been turning potential wins into losses. That changed on Feb. 18 - for at least one night - when the Broncos traveled to La Ronge. They scored an entirely unexpected eight goals in the first two periods before cruising to an eventual 8-3 win.
It didn't take long for the goals to start piling up, either; Jarrett Fontaine and Gray Marr both scored within the first 32 seconds of the game. It was a veritable offensive explosion, the type of performance that makes everyone feel a little bit better during the long bus ride back to Humboldt.
"It's always nice playing with the lead, getting two goals right off the bat," said Broncos assistant coach Brayden Klimosko. "On the other hand, you're thinking they still have 59 more minutes to come back in the game."
Fortunately for Klimosko, head coach Dean Brockman and their team, the Ice Wolves couldn't recover and the Broncos cruised to an easy and important win. Counting a game against Kindersley that happened after the Journal went to press, the Broncos have two games left in the regular season, both at home: March 1 against Yorkton and the next night against Notre Dame.
The stakes couldn't be much higher; as of this writing, the Broncos are two points ahead of the Estevan Bruins for sixth place in the SJHL. If the Broncos were to fall to seventh, they would have to play a best-of-five series against the tenth place team while the top six get to sit back, watch, and await the winners.
"We're still fighting for that sixth spot," Klimosko said. "It's big to get in that spot, and we might have to win all of our remaining games to do it. You don't get much of a break if you finish seventh."
Regardless of whether they finish sixth or seventh, the Broncos will soon be in the playoffs, a pressure cooker of an environment that has many similarities and many differences to regular season hockey.
"Consistency is the biggest thing we need for the playoffs," Klimosko said. "Playing for 60 minutes. Our effort's been there for the most part."
As a low scoring team, it will be critical for the Broncos to manufacture offence whenever possible, both to build a cushion and remove some pressure from Ryland Pashovitz and Cade Spencer, the team's two goalies.
"It's nice to have the goalies relax in net once in a while," Klimosko said. "We've relied on them so much this season, it's always good to reward them with some goal support."
As a team with lots of young players in prominent roles, the Broncos' coaching staff will depend on the team's veterans to guide their younger players through the gauntlet of the playoffs. Klimosko hopes that the importance of the last few weeks of the regular season will serve as a good tune-up.
"The good thing is we've played lots of high intensity games already," he said. "We hope the older guys on the team try to explain to the younger guys what to expect. We need guys who've been there before to show everyone the ropes."
