The Swift Current Broncos (25-24-1-2) had a slow start Saturday night, falling behind 2-0 to the Brandon Wheat Kings (22-24-7-0) in the first period and playing catch up the rest of the way, ultimately falling 3-1.
The Broncos had a bit of a tough start to the game as the Wheat Kings came out with jump and racked up shots on net. Joey Rocha stood tall in the Broncos crease to keep the game scoreless early, but Brandon would eventually open the scoring on the power play.
After playing five seconds at four-on-four, Connor Hvidston was called for interference to send the Wheat Kings to the power play. Just 13 seconds into the man advantage, Nate Danielson fired in a one timer from the left circle to open the scoring 10:57 into the game.
During the ensuing four-on-four Brandon added to their lead. Quinn Mantei cycled the puck behind the Bronco net for Nolan Ritchie, and he hooked it to the crease for Calder Anderson who tapped it in, giving Brandon a 2-0 lead on goals just 1:34 apart.
Swift Current had some push back for the remainder of the period, but found themselves down 2-0 after one with Brandon holding a 15-7 shot advantage.
The Broncos got on the board while down a man in the second period. Josh Davies chased down a loose puck in the Brandon zone and cut across the crease, but was denied by Carson Bjarnason.
The puck was sitting free in the crease and Drew Englot lunged for it, poking it into the net for his fifth goal of the season and the Broncos 13th shorthanded goal of the year.
There was 30 seconds remaining in the Wheat Kings power play following the goal, and Brandon would quickly restore their two-goal lead.
Luke Shipley threw the puck on net from the left circle and was stopped by Rocha, but the rebound went right to the tape of Nolan Flamand who tapped it into the open net, putting Brandon up 3-1 just 29 seconds after Englot’s goal.
The Wheat Kings carried the 3-1 lead into the intermission, outshooting the Broncos 25-15.
The third period started with some fireworks as Brady Birnie was levelled by Anthony Wilson along the boards of the Brandon zone. Caleb Wyrostok immediately came to the defence of Birnie went after Wilson, which brought more bodies into the scrum.
When the dust settled, Wyrostok was given a five-minute major for fighting and a game misconduct while Roger McQueen was given two for roughing, sending the two teams to four-on-four.
During that sequence, Connor Hvidston was sprung on a breakaway, but was denied by the right pad of Bjarnason to keep the game 3-1.
Swift Current had some power play time in the third period, including a brief five-on-three chance, but couldn’t solve Bjarnason again as the Wheat Kings held on for the 3-1 win.
The Broncos now get set to kick off a four-game week by welcoming the Winnipeg ICE (43-7-1-0) for a 4:00 puck drop on Monday. You can catch the game live on the Eagle 94.1 FM with Living Sky Casino Broncos Hockey starting at 3:30.
Announced attendance was 1,845.