Swift Current Broncos take both weekend games

Artyom Minulin returned to the lineup January 6th in front of 2284 people at the iPlex in Swift Current when the Broncos hosted the Regina Pats. Tyler Steenbergen and Aleksi Heponiemi were still out of the lineup. Logan Flodell started in net. Beck Malenstyn, Glenn Gawdin, and Kaden Elder started up front while Minulin and Colby Sissons manned the blue line at puck drop.

Colby Sissons (Darwin Knelsen)

Swift Current had some big hits in this game, Owen Blocker led the way. The Broncos set the pace in the first period with their physical, dominating play. But a holding penalty on Sahvan Khaira killed the momentum temporarily. Just as the Broncos killed the penalty, Kaden Elder slapped one home to put the Broncos up 1-0 with an assist by Matthew Stanley. The Swift Current defense did a great job of stripping the puck off of Regina players during the first 20 minutes of play. After another Bronco goal by Matteo Gennaro, the Regina Pats swapped goalies and that changed the entire momentum of the game as Regina found their skating legs. The score was 2-0 and shots on goal were 11-8 for the home team to end the first period.

With the barrage of shots on net from Regina players because of Swift Current penalties, Flodell was sharp throughout the middle frame. The Pats buried their first goal on a power play to get on the board 2-1. Three penalties by the Broncos in the second period led to the Pats closing the gap in shots on net. The shots on goal at the 12-minute mark were 14-15 in favour of Regina. In spite of the penalties that Regina took in the second period, Swift Current just couldn’t capitalize. After the Broncos final penalty of the period, Regina would find the back of the net and even the score during the first 40 minutes, 2-2.

The third period seemed unstructured and messy for the home team. They couldn’t get anything set up and they seemed to get out-worked by the visiting team. But they started to hit back later in the period. Khaira and Cole Gable made some physical hits on the opposition and then the others followed suit. Gennaro, also, would change the pace after scoring his second of the night, putting the Broncos up 3-2 with less than five minutes left in regulation. Minulin and Max Patterson would get the assists. It didn’t stop there. The entire team began to fight back against the Pats. Elder would notch the insurance goal with less than 90 seconds left on the clock to give the Swift Current Broncos a 4-2 win over Regina. In spite of the score, the total shots on net were 35-28 for the Regina Pats.

My 3 Stars

3rd Star
Logan Flodell – He had good positioning and was sharp in net. He dug the Broncos out of some unfavourable situations during the worst moments.

2nd Star
Matteo Gennaro – He earned two goals and a +3 rating throughout the game. He’s a big body, he generates chances, and he can score.

1st Star
Kaden Elder – He, too, got two goals and a +3 rating with four shots on net. His work ethic is non-stop and he always brings one hundred percent to the ice.

Swift Current returned to home ice the following afternoon to host the Red Deer Rebels in front of 2557 fans at the iPlex. This was the Broncos fourth game in five days. January 7th saw the return of Aleksi Heponiemi after his time away, playing for Team Finland at the World Juniors. Logan Foster slid into the lineup while Quinton Waitzner and Matthew Stanley sat this one out. Flodell also took a seat with Joel Hofer in net. Swift Current was still in second place in the Eastern Division with 59 points while the visiting Red Deer Rebels sat in fifth place in the Central Division with 29 points. This was the third matchup between these two teams this season, the Broncos earning wins in the first two games.

Aleski Heponiemi (Darwin Knelsen)

An early Broncos penalty led to the first two shots on net of the game by Red Deer, but the Rebels couldn’t capitalize. An early Swift Current power play and a lot of patience by the Broncos led to the first goal of the game. The home team was up 1-0 early in the first period. It was a nice welcome-home goal by Heponiemi with assists by Colby Sissons and Glenn Gawdin. Another Swift Current penalty would even the score 1-1, but the Broncos would capitalize with a go-ahead goal seconds later by Matteo Gennaro with assists from Colby Sissons and Max Patterson. Red Deer would take a penalty for kneeing, which lead to the Broncos third goal. Artyom Minulin provided a great screen in front of the Rebels goalie while a pass from Heponiemi would give Gennaro his second goal of the period. The Rebels penalties kept coming back to haunt them when the home team would score another goal during yet another power play, giving the Broncos a 4-1 lead after 20 minutes.

Red Deer started off the second period with a goalie swap. In the previous game at home for the Broncos, Regina changed goalies around the same time and changed the momentum of the game completely until the very end. In spite of the home team spending a lot of time in the Rebels zone, Red Deer did an effective job of clearing the puck as much as possible and taking away any chances the Broncos had of scoring. In his first game back with his small town team, Heponiemi took a stick to the face and immediately walked down the tunnel with athletic trainer, Jamie LeBlanc not far behind. We would not see Heponiemi again for the rest of the period.

Swift Current would open the final frame with a penalty to Owen Blocker for tripping. Luckily, Red Deer would not be able to get past Hofer. In return, the Rebels would take a bench minor for too-many-men and the Broncos would score to make it 5-1. Swift Current spent a lot of time in the offensive zone, but Red Deer would continuously clear the puck for the rest of the period. Even though they didn’t generate too much offence, only once in a while getting a spurt of energy in the Broncos end, the Rebels defense took every play in stride for most of the game. 4 of the Broncos 5 goals were earned on the power play. The final score was 5-1 for the Swift Current Broncos.

Swift Current was on the offensive most of the game. Logan Foster looked like a man on a mission with his physical play and hard shots on net. Kole Gable also had a physical game, throwing his weight around and getting into the mix of things as often as possible.

My 3 Stars

3 Star
Colby Sissons – With three assists and two shots on net, he made an impact in almost every situation on the ice. His presence on ice never goes unnoticed and he knows how to be effective on the penalty kill.

2 Star
Kaden Elder – Arguably the best player to be able to take his man off the puck and give his team a clearing chance, he is a one-man wrecking crew in his defensive zone while helping to create plays in the offensive zone. He may not have earned any points during the game, but his presence on ice was made clear to his opponents.

1 Star
Matteo Gennaro – It was another multi-point game for one of the best Swift Current acquisitions this season. He fights for his space and can score goals or help his teammates score their own. He had four shots on net, a +1 rating, two goals, and one assist in this game alone. He’s earned my first star of the game for good reason.

Emanuel Viveiros, Swift Current Broncos GM and head coach.

In both games, one thing was very clear, there is a deep respect behind the bench between players and coach. When Manny Viveiros speaks, his players listen intently, making eye contact and nodding in acknowledgement. In return, Manny respectfully puts a hand on the shoulder of the player he is speaking to and explains what needs to be said. It’s nice to see this kind of respect in hockey.

The guys get a little bit of a break now. They are on the road later this week when they will head to Prince Albert to take on the Raiders January 12th before coming home again for a game on January 13th against the Edmonton Oil Kings.