The Swift Current Broncos season came to an end on Friday night with a 4-2 loss to the Moose Jaw Warriors in game five of their second-round WHL Playoff series, dropping the series 4-1.
The Broncos scored first in each and every game in the series, and on Friday, Josh Filmon’s team-leading seventh playoff goal got the Broncos ahead. However, a natural hat-trick from Jagger Firkus gave Moose Jaw a 3-1 lead heading into the third period.
The Broncos got the powerplay going with a Conor Geekie goal, but even with all the fight, the Broncos were unable to tie it up as the Warriors added an empty netter for the final straw.
Broncos Interim Head Coach Taras McEwen said he loved the way his team battled in a do or die game five.
“Really proud of our group and our guys,” he said. “Backs against the wall, down 3-1, and we had a group that believed right till the bitter end. We were close right there and they were just a little bit better, but proud of what our guys did do in the battle.”
The Broncos season ends after a first round win over Lethbridge, and the team’s first playoff appearance since 2018. The team won 40 games for the first time in the 68-game era, scored the most goals since the late-1990’s in Broncos history, and won a Division title for the first time since 2001.
With all the success, also came some adversity, which included a coaching change, but the team was able to focus on the task at hand, helping them to the playoffs.
McEwen called it a whirlwind of a season.
“Just the group that we had just how close they were by the end,” McEwen added. “The players, the 19 and 20 year-olds that you won’t come back next year. I thought we just had a really special group and just the opportunity to get to work with some of those guys every day.”
The team also waves goodbye to the 20-year-olds, Tyson Galloway, Ryan McCleary, and Caleb Wyrostok.