The Swift Current Broncos have taken a 2-0 series lead with a 4-3 win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Saturday Night at the InnovationPlex.
It was a back-and-forth game but the Hurricanes held a 2-1 lead through two periods. Leo Braillard scored early in the first to give the Hurricanes the lead, but Josh Filmon responded for Swift Current early in the second on the powerplay to tie the game. However, it only lasted a bit more than two minutes before Sean Tschigerl restored the Lethbridge lead.
Broncos Interim Head Coach Taras McEwen said they were a bit sloppy through the first 40 minutes.
“They were checking a little bit harder, they were a little bit tighter on us in our defensive zone and created a few turnovers,” he said. “And I think that’s just playoff hockey. I wasn’t real happy with our start, I thought we just lacked a little bit of legs and they came out hard.”
The third period turned to be the most entertaining of the contest, and the Broncos pushed hard and pushed hard early. At one point in the third, they outshot the Hurricanes 11-2 and McEwen said it was a big shift early in the third from a line that included Petr Pavelec, Dawson Gerwing, and Ty Coupland, that ended in a goal from Ryan McCleary.
“Once McCleary scored, I thought just the momentum, the energy in the building kind of switched,” McEwen said. ”We built off that and we’re able to take the game.”
Connor Hvidston scored a powerplay goal at the 5:30 mark of the third to give the Broncos their first lead of the contest.
The Hurricanes would pull their goalie Harrison Meneghin with a few minutes remaining and the Broncos would capitalize with Conor Geekie tossing one from his own end into the empty net to make it 4-2.
Immediately following that ensuing faceoff, a Hurricanes dump into the Broncos zone was picked up by Broncos goalie Reid Dyck who attempted to shoot it out towards the empty net, but fanned, and Hayden Pakkala capitalized for Lethbridge to bring it back to within one with 2:10 to go in the game. The Hurricanes continued to push, but couldn’t get another one to go as the Broncos earned the victory.
Dyck stopped 29 of 32 shots he faced in the game, while the Broncos were 2-for-4 on the powerplay and the penalty kill was 2-for-2.
Games three and four of the series will go on Tuesday and Wednesday in Lethbridge.