The final playoff spot in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is slipping further and further from the Humboldt Broncos grasp.
When the week started the Broncos were seven points behind Yorkton with ten games remaining for each team and the Broncos had three games on home ice. After a 1-2 record the Broncos now sit ten points behind the Terriers with seven games remaining.
Broncos forward Andrew Thompson said that the onus is on the Broncos to make sure that despite the gap they worry more about themselves than about Yorkton.
“Just make sure we’re getting the points that we need and that’s all we can really focus on. You can’t focus on what they’re going to do just what we’re going to do.”
Their first game came on Feb. 9 when La Ronge came to town. The Broncos battled hard against the Ice Wolves but dug themselves a 4-2 deficit after two periods and were unable to complete the comeback.
The Ice Wolves outshot the Broncos 31-23 and outscored them 5-3 for the Broncos fourth loss in a row.
The Broncos had some excellent offensive contributions from their top players including two goals from Daniel McKitrick and two assists from both Logan Schatz and Trevor Posch.
Their next matchup came against Kindersley on Feb. 12.
The Broncos came out looking for retribution after being beaten 9-3 by the Klippers on home ice in their last game. A quick start staked the Broncos out to an early 2-0 lead before a pair of Klippers goals in the final two minutes of the period had the game tied at two after one period.
The Broncos added two in the second period and one more early in the third to jump out to a 5-2 lead.
The Klippers responded two and a half minutes later to cut the lead back to two but that was as close as they would get as the Broncos added two more including one into the empty net to skate away with a 7-3 win to snap their four game losing streak.
The seven goals was also a season high for the Broncos.
For the second straight game the Broncos’ best offensive players lead the way for the team as Chris Van Os-Shaw had a goal and two assists and Posch and McKitrick each scored a goal and an assist.
Looking to keep the momentum rolling the Broncos returned to the ice the very next night, Feb. 13 for a date with the Weyburn Red Wings. It was a special night for the Broncos and their fans as it marked the first and likely last time that
Humboldt resident and former Bronco Jarrett Fontaine would step on the Elgar Peterson Arena ice as a member of the opposition.
The game started out slowly as neither team managed a goal until Broncos forward Nik Malenica scored his first career Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League goal at the midway mark of the second period.
The lead was short lived as a parade to the penalty box set the Red Wings up on a five on three, which they took full advantage of.
The Red Wings scored during that five on three advantage and again less than three minutes later to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead after two periods.
The goals gave Humboldt residents something to cheer about as Fontaine was originally credited with the tying goal and an assist on the go ahead goal but the goals were later changed and his assist was removed and the tying goal he was awarded an assist instead.
The Broncos looked for a third period equalizer but feel victim to the empty net goal as they dropped a 3-1 decision.
Carter Seminuk was fantastic in goal for the Broncos making 50 saves as the Broncos were badly outshot 52-14.
The massive shot differential could be partially attributed to a Broncos defensive core that was seriously undermanned as they dressed just five defensemen as Connor Swystun was scratched and Corey Dambrauskas was lost for the remainder of the year with a shoulder injury.
Despite the up and down week Thompson said that his team worked hard, the results just did not come for them.
“The guys worked really well together and we were battling hard. We played really well against Kindersley but the game against Weyburn they were just a really good team. (We) played hard, we just didn’t get the result we wanted,” he said.
Next Week
With their playoff hopes dwindling the Broncos play two games this week against their rivals from Melfort on Feb. 19 and Feb. 20 in Humboldt.
