Broncos edge past Bombers
Logan Boulet scored the game winning goal midway through the third period as the Humboldt Broncos got back in the win column with a 4-3 win over the Flin Flon Bombers in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League action from Flin Flon on Dec. 8.
Broncos assistant coach Mark Cross was pleased to see his team win, but says it took some time for his side to get going.
“They had a good start, we were on our heels for a bit there but as the game wore on I think we started to take over the play.”
The game got off to a slow start for the green and gold as they gave up the game’s first goal at the 14:14 mark of the first period.
With time winding down in the opening period, Jaxon Joseph scored his 13th goal of the season to pull the Broncos into a 1-1 tie with the Bombers after the opening period.
The Broncos rode the momentum from their late first period goal into the second, and were quickly rewarded as Logan Schatz scored his 12th of the year just 37 seconds in giving the Broncos a 2-1 lead.
Getting those two goals on either side of the intermission, was big, says Cross, who notes it can be a real momentum shifter.
“You get that momentum and it takes a little bit away from the other team and it really benefited us in that way.”
The game stayed 2-1 in favour of the Broncos for fewer than six minutes before the Bombers pulled back into a tie, as Ben Lanfermann scored his sixth of the year, beating Jacob Wassermann on the power play.
Derek Patter put the Broncos back in front, just short of seven minutes later, with his seventh goal of the season, giving the Broncos a 3-2 lead after two periods of play.
The Bombers answered back quickly in the third period, as Rob Johnson scored his second of two goals on the evening just one minute into the third period, setting up Boulet’s heroics.
Giving up that early third period goal was not ideal, admitted Cross, but says he was pleased to see the Broncos stick with it.
“That can always be an issue too when you’re on the opposite end. They score early and everyone’s gripping their sticks a bit more but I think our guys did a great job of just showing their dedication and resiliency… We weren’t nervous or afraid of losing, we played hard to the end and I thought we played a really good game.”
Boulet scored his seventh goal of the season at 7:31 of the final period to give the Broncos the win.
Picking up the win in what can typically be a difficult place to play was important, says Cross, who notes the young players on the team got some valuable experience.
“That’s a great atmosphere to play in. We have a lot of 18 year olds and first year guys and new guys on our team who hadn’t been up there yet so it was a pretty good atmosphere for them to play in.”
The Broncos managed to pick up the win despite failing to win the special teams battle, as the Broncos finished the night 0-for-5 with the man advantage, while the Bombers finished the evening 2-for-5.
Cross noted some of their struggles killing penalties came from not sticking to the systems, but says the fact that they were able to win despite losing the special teams battle was a testament to their 5-on-5 play.
“I thought we were the more controlling team.”
Wassermann picked up the win in the Broncos’ cage turning aside 26 of the 29 shots he faced as the Broncos outshot the Bombers 37-29.
Broncos gun down Bombers
The red-hot Humboldt Broncos offense keeps on rolling as they exploded for seven goals in a 7-1 win over the Flin Flon Bombers in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League action from Flin Flon.
The Dec. 9 contest marked the third time in the Broncos’ last five games that they have scored at least seven goals, outscoring the opposition 28-12 in the process.
Broncos assistant coach Mark Cross admits he has noticed a difference in his teams’ offense over the last couple of weeks, noting that a large chunk of it is courtesy of the teams’ re-formed top line of Conner Lukan, Logan Schatz, and Jaxon Joseph.
“They have a bit more jump in their steps you can tell and they’re finding each other more out there now than they were before, which is nice and you’re seeing it on the scoreboard,” he said.
“And other lines are starting to find some chemistry as well, which is huge because you need that. You can’t just have a one punch lineup up front. You need some scoring spread out throughout the lineup, which is something we have.”
The game got off to an excellent start for the Broncos as Stephen Wack scored his fourth of the year, and Jaxon Joseph, his 14th of the year, giving the Broncos a 2-0 lead less than seven minutes in.
Getting off to a quick start was huge, admits Cross.
“That was big for us because they’re a team that comes out hard and we found that out the first game. We made some adjustments going into that second game, which I think also helped our team. That was the start that we wanted and needed and our guys provided that for us, which is huge.”
After the Bombers scored at 10:10 to cut the Broncos’ lead to just a single goal, Evan Thomas scored his third of the year, and just over four minutes later Logan Boulet scored his second goal in as many games, giving the Broncos a commanding 4-1 lead after the first period.
Thomas’ goal was a huge turning point in the game, noted Cross, who said the Bombers goal was scored under some controversy.
“It could have been easy for us to come off the train there and come unraveled but I think our guys did a good job of getting composed again and getting back to the focus and the desire on the bench… and they went out there answering the bell scoring that big goal so it was great to see.”
Brayden Camrud extended the Broncos’ lead to 5-1 with his tenth goal of the year on the power play at 15:44 of the second period.
Derek Patter, and Logan Schatz added third period shorthanded goals for the Broncos to round out the scoring.
Special teams were fantastic for the Broncos as they finished the night 2-for-8 with the man advantage and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill, which included a pair of shorthanded goals.
With the Broncos winning the special teams battle 4-0, Cross admits a large reason for the lopsided score was because of their excellent special teams play.
“The first night they were a bit of a struggle, (but we were) still able to find a win because of our good 5-on-5 play. And then the next night our 5-on-5 play was still strong but our special teams really picked it up.”
Parker Tobin picked up the win in the Broncos goal, turning aside 28 of the 29 shots he faced as the Broncos outshot the Bombers 42-29.
The Broncos will look to push their current point streak to eight games on Dec. 12 when they travel to Kindersley to take on the Klippers.
Heading into that contest, the Broncos own a perfect 4-0 record against the Klippers this year, and Cross says all the players need to do is look at the standings to know how important a good effort will be.
“Our division is so tight right now a couple of points is a huge jump in the standings so every point matters right now. All season it does, but just take a look at the standings. I don’t think the guys need much more motivation than that.”
