Counting the preseason, the Swift Current Broncos were playing in their 106th game of the 2017-18 campaign on Wednesday evening. It was also the last game of the round robin in the Mastercard Memorial Cup and would turn out to be their last as they fell 6-5 to the host Regina Pats. They lost all three of their games in the Memorial Cup, with each one coming by one goal.
The Broncos outgunned the Pats in the first round in the WHL playoffs but found themselves unable to overcome Regina’s top line of Sam Steel, Cam Hebig and Nick Henry Wednesday. That trio combined for 23 points in their seven-game series loss to Swift Current, but connected for 10 on Wednesday alone, leading the Pats to victory and birth in the semi-final on Friday night against the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs.
Manny Viveiros: "The kids just we never quit. Our group never quits. I was very proud of them again tonight the way they responded… our mistakes were throughout this tournament tired mistakes. Our group is tired. I noticed that coming into this tournament."
— Shawn Mullin (@shawnmullin) May 24, 2018
Steel and Henry were the main story in the game as the former set up the latter three times for the first hat-trick Henry has notched since just eight games into his WHL career back on October 14th, 2016 against Kootenay. Steel had five assists in the game and leads the Memorial Cup with 11 points in just three games.
Since the Pats were knocked out of the playoffs by the Broncos, Swift Current played 19 tough playoff games en route to the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions. The Pats looked like the fresher team in this one as they had a response for each time the Broncos fought back to make this one close.
The Broncos scored three times in the third including one with goalie Stuart Skinner pulled for an extra attacker, but the Pats made use of a miscue in pulling Skinner and took advantage of the ensuing penalty on Swift Current for too-many men to provide the difference-making sixth goal with 1:37 left in regulation.
That play was just one of many wild ones as the Pats defended against a desperate Broncos squad that would just not go away.
After Swift Current got some looks on a power play in the first, Regina capitalized when given a chance on the man advantage themselves. Steel fired a cross-ice pass right to Nick Henry by the face off dot and the Colorado Avalanche prospect drilled a one-timer past a diving Stuart Skinner.
Steel did get the puck across the line right before the penalty was called, but the officials ruled that the play had stopped prior to the goal.
For the guys who were on the team last year and lost in the WHL final, John Paddock says “it’s a feeling that’s been smouldering for a year” and they want to prove their the best. pic.twitter.com/NbCPZjXN3I
— Claire Hanna (@clahanna) May 24, 2018
Max Paddock had a solid start to the game, but needed some help in behind him later in the first. Andrew Fyten threw a shot off the post to Paddock’s left and then had another look that Pats defenseman Brady Pouteau laid out to stop and then fell on in the crease.
Regina kept the pressure up on Skinner again in the second, but needed another power play to add to their lead. After Glenn Gawdin held the stick of Jake Leschyshyn, Steel found Cam Hebig at the back door on the power play.
The goal was Hebig’s third of the tournament and gave the Pats a 2-0 lead.
Gawdin, the WHL playoff MVP could not have been happy with being in the box when the Pats went up by two.
He did something about it 1:17 later as he drove the tight wing of the puck and wired a shot inside the pads of Paddock an in for his first marker of the tournament.
The goal was also his first point of the tournament after he had 32 in the WHL playoffs.
Swift Current then seemed prime to tie the game with some good looks later in the second and did draw a penalty on Leschyshyn, giving them their third power play of the game.
Instead the Pats get their two-goal lead back as Steel and Henry went the other way short-handed and the former found the latter for his second of the game and fourth of the tournament.
The Broncos are not an easily shaken team though as they showed throughout their run in the WHL playoffs.
They answered right back just 23 seconds later as Gawdin used the fact that Paddock was expecting him to shoot to fire a cross-ice pass right to Beck Malenstyn. That got them within one again at 3-2 and set us up for a thrilling third period,
Steel and Henry had other things in mind though. After a nice chip up the boards, Steel went in one a 2-on-1 with Henry. He waited awhile but ultimately found Henry for the one-timer. This gave him a hat-trick and five goals in three games at the Memorial Cup.
Henry had three goals in Regina’s seven-game series loss to Swift Current and thus has six against the Broncos over the last eight games.
The teams then traded looks in the third before Regina got one in midway through the frame. Unfortunately for them Josh Anderson had just knocked the net off its moorings prior to the goal so it did not count.
Fortunately for them, it was ruled that Anderson did so intentionally and they were given a power play.
While the Pats did not cash in on the man advantage they did make the score 5-2 shortly thereafter as Josh Mahura and Hebig got the puck out and set up Matt Bradley and Bryce Platt on a 2-on-1. Bradley found Platt and the Regina native went to his backhand tucking in his first goal since December 15th.
Despite the three-goal deficit the Broncos valiantly battled back yet again. Aleksi Heponiemi beat Paddock with 5:38 left to make the score 5-3 and then Giorgio Estephan lobbed a shot over the Past netminder making this a one-goal game again with 2:49 remaining.
That was when Libor Hajek raced in on the power play given to Regina after Skinner left the net early and the former Saskatoon Blades blue liner wired a shot by Skinner.
The power play marker was the third on five opportunities for the Pats.
The Broncos went 2-for-5 with a short-handed goal against.
Gawdin beat Paddock again with the goalie pulled and on the power play with 50 seconds left and we were set up for a crazy finish.
Instead the Pats held tight and did not allow a team that scratched and clawed all game to have new life.
After being knocked out by the Broncos in the WHL playoffs, the Pats returned the favor in the Memorial Cup and extended the drought for WHL champions at the Memorial Cup to nine games.
Regina will now move on to take on Hamilton, who the beat to start the tournament last Friday. The winner gets Acadie-Bathurst on Sunday in the championship game.
Notes:
-Henry now has eight goals in 13 games against the Broncos since the start of this season.
-Skinner stopped 22 of 28 for Swift Current, while Paddock turned away 26 of 31.
-Regina won 41 of 72 draws with Leschyshyn going 15-of-28, Steel winning 14-of-25 and Bradley taking 11-of-16.
-Gawdin went 11-for-27, Estephan 10-of-17 and Matteo Gennaro 8-of-21.
-Gawdin, Gennaro and Estephan all age out of the WHL now. Likely not returning as well are NHL-signed 1998-born players Tyler Steenbergen, Skinner, Josh Anderson, Colby Sissons and Malenstyn.
-Tanner Nagel, Kaden Elder, Kole Gable, Andrew Fyten, Sahvan Khaira and import Artyom Minulin are all candidates for the three overage spots Swift Current has in 2018-19.
Manny Viveiros notes Tyler Steenbergen had a concussion. That explains why he was listed as a game time decision as they had to wait to see how he would respond. Could have possibly returned if he recovered quickly by the weekend. Unfortunately didn't get the chance.
— Shawn Mullin (@shawnmullin) May 24, 2018
