One of the most promising scorers in the WHL made their pre-season debut last night, but it was the goaltenders who stole the show.
Berney Weston and Aiden Eskit slowed Maddox Schultz and the Regina Pats in a 2-1 victory for the Swift Current Broncos.
It was a pre-season "rookie game" between the two clubs.
Weston stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced in his half of the game, while Eskit then turned aside all 28 shots sent his way.
"I thought both of them were very calm in net," said Broncos Head Coach Dean DeSilva. "They didn't have happy feet. They were square to the shooters. Their rebound control was excellent. I thought our D did a really good job of boxing out, so they saw a lot of the shots. They did their jobs. The boys made sure that they acknowledged that in the dressing room, how well those two guys played. That's a feather in their cap for their first games."
Big 15-year-old Tanner Massey opened the scoring for the Broncos only 2:22 into the game.
He was set up by Gull Lake's Jamie Kirwan and Swift Current's 2025 1st round WHL Draft pick Cohen Rotar.
"Obviously a nice goal," said Rotar. "We were just building chemistry as the game went on, forechecking hard, and good things happen when you do the right things."
Jayden Simpson added the eventual game winner for the Broncos 3:59 into the 2nd period.
Schutlz, the 2025 1st overall pick in the WHL draft, scored the lone Regina goal in a losing cause.
"Lots to work on," said DeSilva. "The players are young, but they're coachable. We kept saying to them on the bench they're trying to do the things that we're asking them to do. It doesn't always work for them, but they worked hard. That was key. And they were attempting to do those things. And when they did do them, they had success. When they didn't work out because of bounces or whatnot, they still worked hard to get back."
Weston and Eskit both made a case for themselves as they're trying to win a spot in the Swift Current crease along with veteran Joey Rocha.
"Two goalies were amazing," Rotar said. "They were both outstanding, kept us in the game for a lot of the game."
Swift Current's rookies were able to hold off a surge from Regina in an attempt to find the tying goal late.
"I thought they did a pretty good job," said DeSilva of his team's effort to hold the lead. "They didn't panic too much. They were still going for the empty net from our zone, which you probably don't want to do all the time, but they were doing what they were asked to do. They played on their toes. They stayed inside the dots. It's a learning opportunity for them, and I thought they did an excellent job tonight."
The Broncos were outshot 46-27 in the game.
They will have access to their full roster when the pre-season continues with two games against Moose Jaw this weekend.
Swift Current will host Moose Jaw on Friday, while the Warriors are the home team for a neutral site game in Assiniboia on Saturday.