After a busy 2015, the Humboldt Broncos are getting some much needed time off. The Broncos wrapped up the 2015 portion of their schedule on Dec. 19 and now enjoy a two and a half week break.
The break is going to serve the Broncos well as they now have a chance to get healthy. Captain Anthony Kapelke has been out of action since Nov. 18 and goaltenders Ryan LaRochelle and Billy Gorn missed both weekend match ups against Melfort with injuries.
All three players should be ready to go when the Broncos return to action on Jan. 6.
In addition to injuries the Broncos need the rest to recover from a very busy first half after playing an average of two games more than the rest of the league.
Broncos Head Coach Darcy Haugan said the rest is, “well deserved and well needed…”
“We’re going to play a lot of important and meaningful hockey games after the break.”
Dec. 20 marked the final night of action for all the teams in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL).
At the break the Broncos sit in a tie with Yorkton for the last playoff spot, but the Terriers currently have three games-in-hand.
The league picks up again on Dec. 30.
This Week
The Broncos opened their week with a home game against the Nipawin Hawks.
A slow start cost the Broncos as they dug themselves a 0-3 hole before the game was 15 minutes old. Trevor Posch scored a power play goal with just over a minute left in the first to send the Broncos into the intermission down 3-1.
Andrew McCann scored at the 2:07 mark of the second period to cut the Hawks lead to one.
The Broncos continued pushing the pace, out shooting the Hawks 12-5 but were unable to score another goal as they headed to the third period down 3-2.
An early Evan Mignault goal extended the Hawks lead to 4-2. A Laramie Kostelansky goal cut the Broncos by 1 but the early hole was too much to dig out of as the Broncos dropped a 4-3 decision.
Meeting the then first place Melfort Mustangs on Dec. 18 and Dec. 19 made for interesting games to watch.
Austin Swystun made his SJHL debut for the Broncos on Dec. 18. Swystun was forced into action due to the injuries to LaRochelle and Gorn.
SJHL leading scorer Travis Mayan scored on a three on one near the midway mark of the first period to put the Mustangs ahead 1-0 after the first period.
Kostelansky scored for the 3rd time in four games and Colin Woods scored his first goal and point since Sept. 22 during the second period to give the Broncos a 2-1 lead after two.
Justin Boyer scored on the power play at 2:22 of the third period to tie the game at 2. The Broncos didn’t allow the early goal to change momentum as the continued battling and were eventually rewarded with a Trevor Posch goal. Three minutes later, Logan Schatz converted a beautiful pass by Jarrett Fontaine to complete the scoring as the Broncos doubled up the Mustangs 4-2.
With the win the Broncos beat one of the top ranked teams in the league and earned Swystun his first win in his first game.
Haugan had lots to say about Swystun’s debut.
“It was pretty fantastic to be honest. He came in in a difficult situation and played with a lot of poise. Obviously our guys played well in front of him but he made the saves for us when we needed them and it was probably the biggest win of the season for our hockey team.”
The Broncos traveled to Melfort for a rematch with the Mustangs on Dec. 19.
The Mustangs had revenge on the mind, out shooting the Broncos 12-6 and outscoring them 1-0.
The Broncos came out with a more competitive second period, being outshot 10-7 but a last minute shorthanded goal by Mustangs captain Tristan Frei gave them a 3-0 lead against the Broncos.
The third period saw the Broncos outshoot the Mustangs 10-8 but the Mustangs added four more third period goals to win 7-0.
Despite the lopsided loss, Haugan said the team lacked execution but said the game wasn’t as lopsided as the score would suggest.
“We had opportunities to get ourselves back in it and we just didn’t finish and obviously some of the breaks in the third period were unfortunate but we’ll learn from it.”
Next Week
The Broncos enjoy a Christmas holiday before returning to action on Jan. 6 when they travel to Wilcox to take on the Notre Dame Hounds.
SJHL Standings
Pos. Team GP W L OTL SOL PTS GF GA LAST 10
1 Battlefords North Stars 37 25 9 1 2 53 145 101 7-3-0-0
2 Melfort Mustangs 34 24 6 3 1 52 134 92 7-2-1-0
3 Weyburn Red Wings 34 22 7 2 3 49 101 79 7-1-1-1
4 Nipawin Hawks 35 21 12 2 0 44 116 105 7-3-0-0
5 Flin Flon Bombers 35 18 13 0 4 40 123 103 8-2-0-0
6 Kindersley Klippers 33 18 14 0 1 37 118 124 5-5-0-0
7 La Ronge Ice Wolves 34 17 14 1 2 37 101 90 5-4-0-1
8 Estevan Bruins 34 17 16 0 1 35 126 128 4-6-0-0
9 Notre Dame Hounds 33 14 15 2 2 32 102 120 3-5-0-2
10 Yorkton Terriers 33 11 20 1 1 24 100 123 3-6-1-0
11 Humboldt Broncos 36 10 22 3 1 24 92 145 3-7-0-0
12 Melville Millionaires 34 9 24 0 1 19 94 142 2-8-0-0
Top 5 Broncos Scorers
Player GP G A PTS
Daniel McKitrick 28 12 13 25
Logan Schatz 35 4 20 24
Trevor Posch 34 7 15 22
Jarrett Fontaine 33 10 11 21
Wesley Shipton 26 7 9 16
