With the playoffs in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) just around the corner, the Humboldt Broncos are picking the right time to play their best hockey.
On Wednesday night, the Broncos improved their point streak to eight games with a 4-1 victory over the Estevan Bruins.
It wasn’t easy, as the game was scoreless deep until the second period before Boris Kofman opened the scoring. Humboldt pulled away as they added three goals in the final period.
Following the game, assistant coach Carter Hansen says the team is starting to peak at the right time.
“We had this at the start of the year, where we were winning these close games, and obviously we had that tough stretch in December, now we’re kind of getting back on the right track and we’re ending up on the right side of these games.”
Carter added, “It’s been basically playoff time since January.”
The Broncos stretch of divisional opponents will continue, with their next four games against Kindersley and Battlefords in a pair of home-and-home sets. Following next weekend’s matchups against the North Stars, the Broncos have only two divisional games remaining on their schedule.
Last time Humboldt faced Kindersley was the team’s first game back from the Christmas holidays on January 4, where the Klippers picked up a 4-3 overtime victory. But since that loss, a lot has changed for Humboldt.
They’ve added a new veteran netminder with Dazza Mitchell, along with fellow 20-year-olds, Cade Kennedy and Liam Rodman.
While it may be a different Broncos awaiting the Klippers, Hansen is expecting nothing different from Kindersley.
“They’ve been pretty consistent on who they are," said the Broncos assistant coach.
“Lines one through four are all the same, they all work hard, they play the system very well, they don’t give you anything easy, so I don’t expect anything to change on Kindersley’s side.”
Hansen adds, the Broncos have to match the Klippers energy over the next two games.
“We got the effort, we got the system, I think we got the energy and positivity going now, we’re riding this wave, I think it’s going to be a heck of a weekend.”
Valuable playoff positioning is on the line, with the four points up for grabs this weekend. The Broncos are tied in 6th spot and lead the Klippers by two points.
After this weekend, the two teams will meet one final time in Humboldt on Sunday, March 9.