Josh Filmon came within one goal of tying the WHL record for goals in a game, scoring six and adding an assist as the Swift Current Broncos (14-15-0-1) snapped their five-game losing streak with an 8-4 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings (4-27-1-0).
It was a dream start to the game for the Broncos, jumping out to a 1-0 lead just 39 seconds after puck drop. Mathew Ward took a centring pass while heading to the net, but wasn’t able to get a good shot away. The puck came off the pad of Kolby Hay and right to Filmon who knocked in his first goal of the night.
A few minutes later, the Broncos went to their first power play of the game and Filmon scored his second, snapping a shot over the blocker of Hay from the right circle to give the Broncos a 2-0 lead just 4:02 into the game.
Edmonton’s Marshall Finnie received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a check to the head a short time later, running over Clarke Caswell in the neutral zone. Three minutes into the power play, Filmon fired a puck toward the crease for Connor Hvidston who redirected it into the net.
The Oil Kings got a goal back in the final minute when Rilen Kovacevic beat Joey Rocha over the blocker through a screen as the Broncos took a 3-1 lead into the intermission.
Filmon picked up his first hat trick while shorthanded. The Oil Kings had the puck on their own goal line but it then deflected off a pair of sticks and right to Filmon in front of the net to extend the Broncos lead to 4-1.
The fourth goal came off an Edmonton turnover at their blue line. Raphael Pelletier intercepted a breakout pass and was stopped by Hay coming down the slot, but Filmon fired the rebound into the net for his fourth of the night 8:02 into the middle frame. The goal prompted a goalie change for the Oil Kings.
Filmon’s fifth goal came on a breakaway as he stepped out of the penalty box, took a stretch pass from Adam McNutt and beat Ronin Geraghty over the blocker at 12:41.
The sixth and final goal came just a few minutes later as Hvidston skated toward the left-wing corner before spotting Filmon in the slot, and a quick snap shot snuck under the blocker of Geraghty.
With the goal, Filmon became the first WHL player to score six goals in a game since Tyler Ennis of the Medicine Hat Tigers on February 27, 2009.
There was no shortage of opportunities for Filmon to tie the WHL record of seven goals in a game in the third period as the Broncos had multiple power plays, including two lengthy five-on-three power plays.
McNutt scored on the second five-on-three for the Broncos final goal of the night, while the Oil Kings were able to tack on three in the third period for the 8-4 final score.
Swift Current now looks to keep the momentum rolling as they meet the Red Deer Rebels (22-5-1-3) Saturday night, their final game before the Christmas break. You can listen to the game live on the Eagle 94.1 FM with Living Sky Casino Broncos Hockey starting at 7:30pm.