It was billet family night in Swift Current as the Broncos hosted the Prince Albert Raiders. The Swift Current billet families were introduced with each of their players before the puck dropped and most of the player’s parents were there as well.
The Broncos starting lineup consisted of Stuart Skinner in net, Colby Sissons and Artyom Minulin on defence, and Glenn Gawdin, Tyler Steenbergen, and Matteo Gennaro up front. Scratches for Swift Current were Quinton Waitzner, MacKenzie Wight, and Ethan Regnier.
The first period was a feisty, fast-paced game of cat and mouse with a few pushes, shoves and punches thrown in. The Raiders opened with a delay-of-game penalty that didn’t amount to much. As usual, a chance on the Raiders net led to a scuffle out front that resulted in Josh Anderson and Zach Hayes throwing punches in the corner. Subsequent penalties ensued and the Broncos were on the power play. After a good short handed chance on Stuart Skinner, Prince Albert turned over the puck, the Broncos took it back into Raiders zone, and Kaden Elder slapped one home with assists to Aleksi Heponiemi and Matteo Gennaro.
A close call on the Broncos net led to an exchange of possession and another Swift Current goal. The Broncos set themselves up with time to spare and Giorgio Estephan buried it, assists to Aleksi Heponiemi and Beck Malenstyn. Shots on goal were 15-10 in favour of Prince Albert in spite of the 2-0 score in favour of Swift Current.
It was a messy second period with a lot of surprise plays. Kaden Elder took an early penalty that was met with a thunderous boo from the home town crowd. Elder, himself, also didn’t seem to like the call. He wouldn’t like it any better 1:23 later as it led to the first Raiders goal by Sergei Sapego. With a score of 2-1, the Broncos were on the defensive for a good part of the period since the Elder penalty.
When the home team finally got their offensive prowess back, they hammered the Raiders goalie which resulted in the restoration of the two-goal lead, 3-1. The goal was by Gennaro with assists to Gawdin and Steenbergen.
Because of another diversion in front of the Prince Albert net, when Heponiemi got tripped up and he took a Raiders player out of the way, Swift Current capitalized again. An unassisted goal by Giorgio Estephan widened the gap, 4-1 for the Broncos. It was then a parade to the penalty box in the latter part of the period, which led to a goal scored with four men aside on the ice by Brayden Pachal. It was 4-2 for the home team after 40 minutes.
Kaden Elder was the shot-blocking king of the evening as he took shot after shot, sacrificing his body in any way needed. The final period was slower paced as the urgency by both teams seemed to dwindle. Swift Current got their second wind and became the physical powerhouse the fans know and love. After a scuffle in front of the Raiders net, Sahvan Khaira, Matteo Gennaro, and even Josh Anderson pushed and shoved their way through the crowd of Prince Albert players. Khaira and Gennaro would land in the box with roughing penalties while the Raiders Parker Kelly and Kody McDonald would get roughing penalties as well.
Later on, with two Raiders players in the box, and Swift Current on a two-man advantage, Prince Albert started to push back with their defensive skills. The Broncos wouldn’t score during both of those penalties. In a turn of events, Vojtech Budik would score on the man advantage for P.A. when Andrew Fyten ended up in the penalty box on a boarding call.
Swift Current was forced to play defensive hockey for the final five minutes of the game because the Raiders wouldn’t back down. A couple of non-calls on Prince Albert didn’t help the home town situation. The score was 4-3 for the Broncos, but the Raiders pressure wouldn’t cease. With 1:06 left in regulation and shots on goal even at 33-33, Jordy Stallard scored to tie the game 4-4 and force overtime.
Overtime solved nothing even though both teams worked hard in the opposition’s end. Colby Sissons bullet of a shot missed the net. Gawdin, Elder, and Minulin cycled the puck, trying to wear down the opposition. A controversial non-call by the refs when Gennaro was protecting the puck in front of the Raiders helped lead to no goals being scored.
This game went into a shootout. Gennaro would bury the first shootout goal, but Regan Nagy of Prince Albert would even the score. When the Raiders Parker Kelly notched the second goal for Prince Albert, it was up to Aleksi Heponiemi to tie and force the next attempt. Heponiemi just couldn’t do it in spite of his effort and the Prince Albert Raiders won in the shootout by a score of 5-4.
Traci’s 1 Star – Matteo Gennaro.
His defensive skills were on point. His forecheck is highlight reel worthy. He protects the puck so well that most of his opponents don’t have any choice but to haul him to the ice to take him off the puck. He has a skating stride that takes him down the ice in three paces. He also fights for position in the offensive zone and typically wins. All of these skills were displayed during the game against Prince Albert.
Swift Current will be back at the rink tomorrow when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings.
