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The Humboldt Broncos picked up a pair on their northern swing.
In the second game of a three-game in three-day northern road stretch, the Broncos once again defeated the La Ronge Ice Wolves, picking up a 5-2 victory on Friday night in the Mel Hegland Uniplex.
For the second straight game, the Broncos scored the all-important first goal.
Ben Costantino, who was inactive in the opening game of the road trip, slotted back in the lineup and found the back of the net for his 6th of the season to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead.
La Ronge has had notable struggles, with a record of 1-14-2-1 prior to Friday’s game when giving up the opening goal. However, the Ice Wolves pushed back, eager to avenge their first loss, and not disappoint on back-to-back nights in front of their hometown fans.
Raine Hodge was the catalyst towards that Ice Wolves mentality, scoring the equalizer late in the opening frame to send a 1-1 tie into the first intermission.
Ove the first three games of the season series between the Broncos and Ice Wolves, Humboldt has been victorious in all three with a combined score of 19-3, while never trailing at any given moment.
The Ice Wolves broke that streak in the second period, finding their first lead of the series off the stick of rookie call-up defenseman, Dayton Deschamps, who scored his first career SJHL goal in just his second career game.
La Ronge was without a doubt playing its best game that the Broncos have seen so far this season. They were playing with an urgency that screamed they were fed up with being a basement dwelling pack, and a team desperate to inch back closer to the playoff line.
However, for the second straight game, once the Broncos had a small portion of momentum in their favour, they took complete control.
The Broncos’ puck retrieval skills elevated to another level in the final 25 minutes of the game.
Pat Lanthier knocked home a rebound on the powerplay with 1:39 left in the second period to tie the game at 2-2., and in the third period, that trend continued.
Cage Newans and Connor Miller scored very similar goals to grant the Broncos some breathing room and a 4-2 lead. Both forwards took the initial shot, stuck to the play, then followed up their own rebound to beat Ice Wolves’ netminder, Karl Soneff.
La Ronge pulled their goalie late, and Spencer Bell flipped home his 14th goal of the season into the empty net, extending his point streak to 6 games in the process, and completing the Broncos 5-2 victory.
The Broncos are back on home ice Tuesday night to face the Yorkton Terriers. We'll have the game call on 107.5 Bolt FM.