The Swift Current Broncos (25-27-1-2) heavily outshot the Moose Jaw Warriors (35-19-0-3) by a 39-24 margin Friday night, but turnovers in the defensive ended up in the back of the net on three occasions as the Broncos fell 4-3 at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
Both teams racked up 12 shots on net through the opening 20 minutes and the Broncos nearly opened the scoring on a dump in.
The puck bounced off the end wall and then off the right skate of Jackson Unger, sliding inches away from the goal line from one end of the blue paint to the other before it was cleared away from danger.
After killing off their first penalty of the game, the Broncos would give up the game’s first goal. A shot from Cosmo Wilson hit the post on the blocker side of Joey Rocha before bouncing out to his glove side.
It ended up right on the tape of Tate Schofer who fired in his third of the season to give Moose Jaw a 1-0 lead with 5:34 remaining in the period. The Broncos went to their first power play of the night shortly after, but it was the Warriors who had the best chance.
A two-on-one rush turned into a short breakway for Brayden Yager, but he was denied by the glove of Rocha trying to lift it up and over from in tight, keeping the game 1-0. The two teams went into the intermission with the Broncos trailing by one.
Swift Current tied the game early in the second period. Owen Pickering worked the puck down low in the Moose Jaw zone for Josh Filmon, and Filmon went to cut across the crease. He was poke checked and knocked over by Unger, but the puck went up the slot to Caleb Wyrostok who fired it through a sea of bodies and into the goal for his 18th of the season. The goal came 3:10 into the period.
The Warriors though would quickly regain their lead on a turnover in the Broncos zone. A forechecking Martin Rysavy intercepted a D-to-D pass and snapped a shot under the glove of Rocha just 1:04 after Wyrostok’s goal.
The Broncos would once again tie the game on an unassisted goal of their own. Brady Birnie picked up a loose puck at centre and skated into the Warriors zone down the right wing. Once he got to the faceoff circle, he snapped a shot over the glove of Unger for his 15th of the season, tying the game at two with 8:54 remaining in the period.
Moose Jaw regained their lead before the period was up. The puck was rimmed around the boards in the Broncos zone and a chip attempt was knocked down by Ryder Korczak. He centred for Atley Calvert who scored his 34th of the year to put Moose Jaw up 3-2 heading into the third.
Five minutes into the final frame the Warriors added to their lead. Swift Current sent the puck up the left-wing boards before trying to bump it back to a defender. The pass was picked off by Korczak who snuck a shot through Rocha to give the Warriors a 4-2 lead, five minutes into the third.
The Broncos responded perfectly by scoring just 34 seconds later. Connor Hvidston won multiple faceoffs in the Warriors zone before taking a pass from Sam McGinley while deep into the right circle.
Hvidston didn’t have a play on net, so he pulled the puck to his backhand before sliding it to the crease where Filmon tapped in his 35th goal of the season, quickly pulling the Broncos back within one.
The window of opportunity opened for the Broncos late in regulation as the Warriors took back-to-back penalties just 1:25 apart, sending Swift Current to a 35-second five-on-three power play.
Despite creating some chances right on top of the Warriors crease, the Broncos weren’t to find the equalizer as the penalties expired with Swift Current still trailing 4-3. Moose Jaw was able to keep the puck away from their net as the clock ran down and the Broncos lost their fifth straight game.
The two teams meet again Saturday night at the InnovationPlex as the Lake Diefenbaker Slough Sharks look for the weekend split. You can hear the game live on the Eagle 94.1 FM with Living Sky Casino Slough Sharks Hockey starting at 6:30pm.