It's locker clear-out day for the Swift Current Broncos.
The players are saying their goodbyes and heading home for the summer after a first round playoff exit against the Medicine Hat Tigers.
"I thought we played good," said Broncos Captain Clarke Caswell. "Played structured, played fast, played our best hockey of the year, but there just capitalized on some big goals and forced our hand sometimes. I thought the guys battled great."
There were some lessons to take out of the series.
"I think just playing with energy and coming out every shift," Caswell said. "You can't have flaws in your game because a team like Medicine Hat will attack on them, and that's what they did. Just playing a full sixty minutes."
Swift Current got down 2-0 in the series before responding with a big 5-4 victory on home ice in Game 3. The Tigers then grabbed control of the series with an overtime win in Game 4.
"Looking back at it, they were close games," said graduating Broncos forward Carlin Dezainde. "If we could have got that overtime win in Game 4 on home ice, that would have changed the series. That was a heartbreak of a loss."
The Tigers have been among the favourites for a WHL Championship all season, and the Broncos felt they made things tough on them.
"As an 8 seed, we pushed," Dezainde said. "Even being down 2-0, coming back here and getting a win the next day and taking them to overtime in Game 4, I think showed a lot from our group. The games were tight, even in Medicine Hat. I think that's something that our group should be proud of."
Broncos General Manager Chad Leslie enjoyed the series while feeling like maybe he could have given his team more help.
"I thought it was a really entertaining series for the fans," Leslie said. "I thought our guys played extremely hard. I felt Reid gave us a chance to win every game. We had some opportunities that, had we capitalized on them, would have changed momentum. We were right there... we knew it was going to be a tall task to beat them, but I felt we were right there.
"For me, it's always did I do enough as a GM to help my team. I feel like maybe I could have done some more for my team."
Swift Current started the season battling amongst the top teams in the Eastern Conference. After Christmas, they played close to .500 hockey at 18-17-1-1 and fell to 8th.
"I think it boils down to consistency," Leslie said. "I can't point the finger anywhere else but myself. Did I do enough for our group in terms of bringing guys in and communication? We'll analyze, and I have analyzed and looked at things for sure. At the end of the day right now, all I can do is look at where I need to be better and focus on that."
It was an impressive season at the gate as the Broncos sold at least over 2000 tickets for each home game at InnovationPlex.
"Our guys felt the support all the way through the year," Leslie said. "When you have an arena that is filled, vocal, and excited, that gives some energy to our group. We were up and down in the standings and had some inconsistent play throughout the season, but we were always entertaining. We have such great fans, and everybody is invested... I was overwhelmed with the support we have."
The Broncos say goodbye to graduating overage players like Dezaidne, Reid Dyck, and Hunter Mayo. They will also now wait to see whether Brady Birnie will head to Bemidji State in the NCAA next season and if any other players will get opportunities to move on from junior hockey.
"I think it's going to be an interesting landscape over the next two years to see how things play out," Leslie said. "When you feel like you know a player's plans in the off-season, they could change too. We'll have a wait-and-see approach. At this point, we're just learning as we go and trying to do things the right way."
Swift Current also announced today that after five seasons in Swift Current, Dyck has committed to play next season at Colgate in the NCAA.