The Humboldt Broncos opened their 2016-2017 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League with a weekend sweep of the Notre Dame Hounds.
The Broncos kicked off their season on home ice on Sept. 17 for the front half of a home-and-home with the Hounds.
The game did not get off to the greatest of starts for the Broncos as they gave up the game’s first goal just 2:30 into the game.
After a succession of penalties for both teams, which resulted in seven first period powerplays, the Broncos finally cashed in on the man advantage with just under three minutes to play in the opening frame as Chris Van Os-Shaw converted a Trevor Posch feed to tie the game at one.
The score remained tied until the second period where Nikolas Malenica, and Logan Schatz on the powerplay scored just 2:30 apart to give the Broncos a 3-1 lead.
The Hounds responded late in the second period to cut the Broncos lead in half heading to the final period.
Schatz added his second goal less than four minutes into the final frame, and Luke Kempf scored his first goal as a Humboldt Bronco at 13:39 to push the Broncos’ lead to 5-2.
With the game winding down the Hounds started applying some extra pressure on the Broncos but they were unable to make a serious comeback attempt as they managed just one goal with just over five minutes remaining as the Broncos took their season opener 5-3.
Garrett Mason was solid in the Broncos net as he allowed just three goals on 30 shots in the win.
The Broncos threw everything they had at Hounds netminder Riley Higdon who finished with 42 saves on 47 shots. Higdon made a number of huge stops of fantastic Broncos opportunities that prevented the Broncos from turning the game into a route.
The two teams wasted little time renewing acquaintances as they met for the back half of a home-and-home the following night in Wilcox for the Hounds’ home opener.
The Broncos jumped out of the gate very quickly as Trevor Posch converted a feed from Michael Korol to give the Broncos the lead just 1:49 into the game.
Posch added his second goal of the period on the power play at 8:10 to give the Broncos a 2-0 lead after the first period.
Korol scored the Broncos’ second powerplay goal of the game near the midway mark of the second period to give the Broncos their second three-goal lead in two games.
The Hounds answered with a powerplay marker of their own less than one minute later to cut the lead back to two but Malenica restored the Broncos lead with under five seconds to play to give the Broncos a 4-1 lead heading into the intermission.
Broncos forward Daniel McKitrick added his first goal of the season to give the Broncos a 5-1 lead at 5:04 of the third period as the Broncos cruised to an easy 5-2 win.
Mason was once again solid between the pipes for the Broncos stopping 18 of the 20 shots he faced.
The Broncos finished the two games with ten goals and saw contributions from their top line, who finished the weekend with five goals, and five assists, as well as a number of other contributors including Malenica who has already surpassed his goal total from last season.
Broncos Head Coach, Darcy Haugan, said it was nice to see the lineup score goals by committee and said that was part of their goal when he was building the team this summer.
The team did a number of other things well over the weekend, which contributed to their success.
“The second game we had far more blocked shots than the first but we still had a lot of key blocks, guys sacrificing their bodies. The penalty kill did a fantastic job for us because there was a lot of powerplay opportunities, especially in that first game… So we’re pleased there’s a lot of things that don’t show up on the scoresheet but they matter a lot.”
In total the Broncos special teams enjoyed a solid start to the season as they finished 3/17 on the powerplay and 11/14 on the penalty kill.
Haugan was very pleased with the effort of the Broncos over the course of the two games and said it was nice to prove that they were as good of a team as they looked in the preseason but he was quick to point out that the wins are just the start of a long season.
“It’s a marathon. It’s not a sprint.”
After last year’s tough season having a great start to the season was huge for the Broncos, says Haugan.
“It adds validity to what we’re trying to do and how we’re trying to play. It also creates just a real positive feeling in that dressing room and we have a lot of good players that are still sitting out and guys trying to get in so it’s just been a real night and day difference from last year to this year.”
Looking ahead to this week the Broncos play a pair of home ice games against the Yorkton Terriers Sept 21, and the Nipawin Hawks Sept. 23, before they participate in the SJHL Showcase in Warman with games against the Melville Millionaires Sept. 25 and the Estevan Bruins Sept. 26.
Haugan says coming in to the week it is going to be very important for the players to decompress after a a highly emotional opening weekend of hockey.
“We have to make sure that the guys are rested and relaxed and can hopefully even (Sept. 20 can) just get them decompressed, get their minds refreshed so that come (Sept. 21), we’re peaking again.”
