The first win of 2025, the first win for Dazza Mitchell’s Humboldt Broncos tenure, and most importantly, a confidence building win as the Broncos defeated the Hounds 4-3 in overtime to snap a three-game losing streak.
The game consisted of three waves.
A determined Broncos team needing to find victory in Notre Dame to build upon a slumping confidence level found their footing and ferocity early, opening up a 2-0 lead and at one point outshooting the Hounds 13-2. Oakley McIlwain snapped a lengthy stretch without a powerplay goal with his 8th of the season. Then newly acquired trade deadline acquisition Cade Kennedy scored his second goal as a Bronco in as many games.
The second wave was the Hounds push back.
A bad Broncos’ finish and start to the first and second period, respectfully, helped propel the comeback. Neka Jean cut the lead in half with 45 seconds left in the opening frame, and Anthony Nolan tied the game 20 seconds into the second.
Damian Metastasio scored his 7th of the season to give the Hounds their first lead with 4:36 remaining in the second.
The third wave was something the Broncos have been searching for since prior to the holiday break and potentially longer. Scoring a momentum-swinging goal has been an Achillies heel of Humboldt’s for over two handfuls of games. However, after a hard-working shift where the Broncos buried the Hounds in their zone for over a minute, Maddox Amaral buckled that trend beating Spencer Borsos high glove for his 7th of the season and the game-tying goal.
The Broncos were also able to play a strong defensive third in front of Mitchell who turned aside his 28 of 31 shots faced in his fist win in green and gold.
In overtime, Jacob Strizzi netted the winner with his team leading 20th of the season.
Tyce Penrod, Maddox Amaral and Boris Kofman all finished with a pair of points.
The victory helped Humboldt separate out of an 8th place tie with La Ronge, while moving one point shy of Melville for 7th place. They improved their record to 16-17-2-0 before heading into a home-and-home divisional weekend against the Battlefords North Stars.