It's almost must-win territory for the Swift Current Broncos tonight.
Down 2-0 in their first round best-of-seven series against Medicine Hat, the Broncos host the Tigers for Game 3 at InnovationPlex.
"We're looking forward to it," said Swift Current goaltender Reid Dyck. "That's kind of been what the buzz around the rink has been can't wait to play in front of our fans. For the opposing team, we make it hard for them to play in our building. I'm really excited to see the energy we'll bring."
Dyck remembers what it was like to play in front of a Swift Current crowd during the playoffs last season.
"It's unbelievable," he noted. "The noise, the flags that waved, all the towels... it's really cool, and I know we all really appreciate the support."
On the ice, special teams were a big factor as Swift Current gave up four power play goals in the first two games of the series.
"I think we were in both games right to the end," Dyck said. "Ran into a little bit of penalty trouble, and that's kind of what cost us. I felt like we played pretty good games, and hopefully we can bring that into the home games and end up on the right side of a couple here."
Swift Current felt they were playing with the Tigers at even strength.
"We played well five on five." said Broncos Head Coach Taras McEwen. "The biggest difference is special teams right now. Their power play has looked real good, and ours hasn't come through. Five on five, we've been right there. If we're going to win, it's going to be a close game. We've just got to keep games close and find that next big goal."
Swift Current went 0 for 9 on their man advantage in the two games on the road.
"They've been real aggressive on our flanks and up top with their pressure." McEwen said. "It's not something that we haven't played before, but I thought we just didn't do a real good job of adjusting to the pressure they were sending at us. It's something we've talked about and worked on. Just simplifying a little bit, trying to get pucks to the net. If they're going pressure like that, we've just got to deliver pucks and outnumber them at the net."
The Broncos are hoping to turn the series around at home. They were 21-12-1-0 at InnovationPlex this season, but 14-18-0-2 on the road.
"We're just a little bit more comfortable playing in front of our fans it brings a lot of energy," McEwen said. "For some reason, our special teams have been a lot better at home than on the road. I think we're looking forward to getting back in front of our fans. It's important to protect home ice."
You can hear tonight's game on Country 94.1 FM with Redhead Equipment Case IH Broncos Hockey at 6:45 PM.
Puck drop is just after 7:00 PM as of noon, there were just over 140 tickets available for the game on scbroncos.com.