The Humboldt Broncos had a third period lead but couldn’t contain the top line of Melfort and dropped to 0-2 in the SJHL’s Semi Final Series with a 4-3 loss on Friday night.
Once again, it was Melfort’s high-end threats who proved to be the difference makers in the game. Minus an empty net goal in Game 1, outside of their top line, and their first pairing of defensemen, no other player has scored against Ben Motew in the first two games of the series.
Chase Freidt-Mohr tallied two goals in Game 2, scoring the game’s opening goal, and the first of three straight later in the game. Ryan Duguay who had a two-goal performance in Game 1, repeated that effort, scoring the game-tying and game-winning goal in the third period.
The Humboldt Broncos were led by offensive efforts from Matthew Van Blaricom who notched his playoff leading 7th goal. Spencer Bell made it three straight games with a goal firing home his 4th of the post season. Maddox Amaral, whose 9 points are second on the team, tucked home a wrap-around to give the Broncos their first lead of the series.
Underlying numbers show the opening two games of the series could have easily gone either way, with the Broncos potentially deserving of a split. After two games in Melfort, the expected goals for were 7.51 – 5.59 in favour of Humboldt.
However, Melfort’s ability to score on their timely opportunities has put them in command with a 2-0 series lead.
The Semi-Finals series will switch back to Humboldt for Games 3 and 4 on April 9th and 10th.
Humboldt has not lost at home in the playoffs.