One of the longest-serving goaltenders in Swift Current Broncos history gets to be part of one of the oldest rivalries in the WHL.
Five-year veteran goaltender Red Dyck gets one more chance to go on a run with the Broncos as they face the Medicine Hat Tigers in the first round of the WHL playoffs.
"It really flies by," Dyck said. "It doesn't feel like five years. It's super special being a part of this community for five years. They're all super welcoming and have stuck with me through thick and thin. I've been part of the good and the bad for sure, but it's good I can end it on a playoff run here. We can hopefully make the most of it and bring a championship back to this city."
He knows the Broncos will need him to do his job.
"For me it's just the process," Dyck said. "Giving my team a chance to win every night is all I can control from my point of view. To win a series often a goalie needs to steal one for his team. That's what I'm going to try and do is steal at least one. These guys have my back and I'm going to try to have theirs as well."
Dyck has had some success against Medicine Hat over the years with an 11-6 record and 0.904 save percentage over his career.
"Being the 8th seed it's always fun to try to play spoiler," Dyck said. "Throughout my career I've had a lot of big games against Medicine Hat. Not all of them have ended up on the right side so hopefully we can change that and win a series."
It's been an up-and-down season for Dyck. He went from a 2.70 goals against average and 0.911 save percentage last season to 3.56 and 0.890 as an overage netminder.
"I think (Dyck) has been real good in moments," said Broncos Head Coach Taras McEwan. "I think he would have liked a little bit more consistency, but I think the last couple weeks I've found he's come into his own. He looks a lot more confident in practice and I think he's excited for the opportunity.
"I think sometimes you can forget just how good he was in (last year's playoffs) first round. When he has his confidence and he's feeling good he's one of the best goalies in the league. I've seen some of that this week."
It's a big challenge against a Medicine Hat Tigers team that finished 27 points ahead of the Broncos in the standings and come in as the top seed. They also feature a very talented offence led by star prospect Gavin McKenna's 129 points in 56 regular season games.
Swift Current did split their four regular season games against the Tigers and feel they match-up better than the standings would indicate.
"The match-up is so tight," Dyck said. "There's such high-end skill on both sides. A couple game changers who can take over the game on both sides. It's exciting. For us it's trying to shut down their top six, stay out of the box as they have a really good power play and that's how we'll have success against them.
"They have such high-end offence, but they do make mistakes. If we just play our game and have patience in our systems, I think we'll benefit off their mistakes. They will happen. Stick with our system until they make mistakes and capitalize on our chances."
The series starts in Medicine Hat tonight and Saturday at 7:00 PM.
You can hear the games on Country 944.1 FM with Redhead Equipment Case IH Broncos Hockey hosted by Gion De Paoli at 6:45 PM.