Broncos fall to Red Wings in first game of 2018
A new year yielded the same results as the end of last year for the Humboldt Broncos as they fell 3-2 to the Weyburn Red Wings in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League action from Weyburn.
The Broncos have now extended their losing streak to four straight.
The Jan. 5 contest started out slowly for both clubs as neither team managed to score until the Red Wings found the back of the net with just 36 seconds left in period one.
After a light burst of offense in the first period, the two teams exploded in the second as they combined for three goals.
Jaxon Joseph pulled the Broncos back even with the Red Wings with his 16th goal of the season, just 43 seconds into period two.
Tyran Brown scored his 12th of the season a little less than nine minutes later to regain the lead for the Red Wings.
The lead did not last long however, as AAA Midget call-up Zach McIntyre scored his first career SJHL goal 45 seconds later to send the game into the second intermission tied at two.
Ben Hiltz wasted little time putting the Red Wings back in front in the third period as he scored his 18th of the season just 37 seconds in to give the Red Wings a 3-2 lead.
Unfortunately for the green and gold, despite firing 16 shots on goal, they were unable to find the back of the net in the third period resulting in the 3-2 loss.
Despite the loss, Broncos head coach Darcy Haugan was pleased with his teams’ effort.
“I looked at the time in the offensive zone and we were probably six, seven minutes better than Weyburn. We just didn’t have a lot of puck luck,” says Haugan.
“Obviously we didn’t make some great decisions in the offensive zone but that was probably the real thing that hurt us was just our lack of finish.”
Goals in the first and last minute of periods sunk the Broncos as two of the three goals against came during those times, but Haugan noted only the one at the end of the first period was of concern.
“We felt we took a bad penalty and situationally we were undisciplined and that caused the penalty at the end of the period.”
Special teams were a struggle for the visitors as they finished the night 0-for-4 with the man advantage, while managing to kill just two of the three power plays they faced.
Parker Tobin was charged with the loss in the Broncos cage allowing three goals on 32 shots as the Broncos outshot the Red Wings 39-32.
Seeing the Broncos play so well given they were coming off a lengthy Christmas break was great to see, says Haugan, who notes he is not overly surprised.
“We really feel we have a great character group of guys here and they just work hard each and every day. They come to the rink and obviously that’s led by our veterans, our 20-year-olds and obviously Logan Schatz up front as our captain.”
Broncos snap four game skid in win over Bruins
Jaxon Joseph played the overtime winner as the Humboldt Broncos knocked off the Estevan Bruins 2-1 in overtime in Estevan.
The win snapped a four game Broncos losing streak, and gave the club their first win of 2018.
Much like the night prior against the Red Wings, the two teams’ offense was quiet in the first period as neither team found the back of the net until Michael McChesney scored his 19th of the year with just 36 seconds left to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead after the first.
After the two teams played to a scoreless second period, the Broncos pulled even just 33 seconds into the third period as Logan Hunter scored his 12th of the season, while on the power play.
The rest of the third period solved nothing as the two teams went into overtime tied at one.
In the extra frame, Jaxon Joseph scored his 17th goal of the season, on the penalty kill, to give the Broncos the 2-1 win.
The win was the Broncos’ first in Estevan since Feb. 7, 2015, which was huge, says Broncos head coach Darcy Haugan.
“It’s definitely nice getting that confidence knowing you can win in Estevan and play well and hold them to one goal, which is something I don’t think we’ve done since I’ve been here so we’re very pleased with that.”
Special teams were excellent for the Broncos as they finished the evening 1-for-5 on the power play, and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill, with a shorthanded goal.
Picking up a win in a tight checking contest against a potential playoff opponent is nice, says Haugan.
“It gives our guys a lot of confidence. Obviously, we’d like to start being better in the offensive zone and making better decisions but that’s something that we’re going to continue working on.”
Parker Tobin picked up the win in the Broncos goal, turning aside 23 of the 24 shots he faced as the Broncos outshot the Bruins 30-24.
Seeing the club snap their skid was nice, admits Haugan, who notes that it was nice to put it behind them knowing the rest of the season is going to be a dog fight.
“There’s not going to be a lot of easy nights, and everybody’s jockeying for position. The points are important so we’ll just keep taking it a day at a time.”
The Broncos will look to push their current win streak to two games when they return to action on Jan. 12 for the first half of a home-and-home series with the Notre Dame Hounds, starting in Wilcox.
The home-and-home series will be huge for both teams as there are separated by just one point, as of Jan. 8, with the Hounds holding two games in hand, with one of those coming Jan. 9 against Kindersley.
The weekend is especially important for the Broncos who could move as high as fifth with a pair of wins and as low as seventh with a pair of losses and a Weyburn win.
Despite the weekend serving as a huge stepping-stone for the remainder of the season, Haugan says he does not expect to see any nerves from his players.
“We’ve got enough veteran guys there that know what it’s about. We just have to execute and play hard and make sure you prepare and when you’re prepared I feel that adds a level of confidence to your game so we’ll do everything we can to get our guys prepared and ready for this weekend.”
