This weekend will mark the lone trip to La Ronge during the 2024-25 regular season for the Humboldt Broncos as they begin a two-game set against the Ice Wolves on Friday night.
Coverage on Bolt FM begins at 7:15, with the opening faceoff is 7:30.
After tonight’s game, the two teams will finish off the back-to-back set on Saturday afternoon. Pregame coverage begins at 2:15, with the opening faceoff at 2:30.
The two teams met back on October 26 in Humboldt, La Ronge scored five times in the third period on their way to a 7-4 victory.
Last weekend for the Broncos saw them split their two games, a victory over the Melville Millionaires, followed up by a 1-0 loss to the Nipawin Hawks last Saturday.
Both teams head into the weekend with 23 points and sit 5th place overall in a tight race for the playoff race in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). The Broncos have a three-game advantage over the Ice Wolves. No team has emerged from the pack in the SJHL, as the Melfort Mustangs lead the overall standings with 29 points, while the Flin Flon Bombers have 21 points and sit 9th overall.
A positive for the Broncos last week was the return of 20-year-old netminder Edouard Gauthier after he missed nearly a month due to injury. He played in both games last weekend, making 37 saves in the win over Melville and stopping 36 shots in the loss to Nipawin. Gauthier will be starting his third game in a row tonight in La Ronge.
A couple of changes for Friday’s game will see Callum Desbrow replacing Eric Stelbasky on the blueline and Connor Miller and Kye Benoche switching spots on the top two lines, with Miller skating with Boris Kofman and Jacob Strizzi while Benoche will be with Maddox Amaral and Gabriel Filion.
This weekend’s game will kick off four straight games for Humboldt, next week they head to Wilcox to meet the Notre Dame Hounds on Wednesday and then will meet the Weyburn Red Wings on Friday.
Next home game for the Broncos will be a week from Saturday, as they meet the Nipawin Hawks.