The Swift Current Broncos fell 3-1 in their opening game of the 2023/2024 regular season on Friday night in Lethbridge against the Hurricanes.
It was an exciting hockey game from puck drop to the final buzzer, and the Broncos were able to get on the board first thanks to Maddix McCagherty’s first career WHL goal as he was in the right place at the right time to finish off a loose puck in front of the net to make it 1-0. The Broncos fired 14 shots in period number one, and were then stopped on their final 27 of the contest as Hurricanes netminder Harrison Meneghin stopped 40 shots overall.
Momentum in the hockey game had seemed to be on the Broncos side, but just three minutes into the third period, a shot hit the Broncos post, confusing some Broncos including netminder Joey Rocha, thinking the puck had actually gone in. However, the Hurricanes would jump on a loose puck and Logan McCutcheon fired one into the empty net. That flipped momentum briefly as the Hurricanes would score just 12 seconds later on the subsequent faceoff courtesy of Landen Ward. That gave the Hurricanes their first lead of the game.
Broncos Assistant Coach Taras McEwen said on the Post-Game Show after the game that it was just that short stretch that hurt them.
“30 seconds,” he said. “It’s something we’ve talked about, just the shift after a goal for or against. So, just disappointed, right after getting scored on they come right back and just some small detail and habits and things we’ve talked about that we need to be better at.”
The Broncos would continue to press offensively and dictated a lot of the play for most of the remainder of the game. Swift Current also had a lengthy, more than two minute, five-on-three advantage after a five-minute major and a double minor penalty were taken by the Hurricanes in the third. However, a late goal from the Hurricanes would make it 3-1, a hill the Broncos couldn’t get over.
While the score dictated a loss in the standings for the Broncos, McEwen said they were the better team for a lot of the game.
“The last two periods, we out chanced them and lost 3-0,” McEwen said. “We’re disappointed with the outcome, but definitely a lot of positives in the amount of chances we had.”
Joey Rocha stopped 31 of 34 for the Broncos in the loss.
The Broncos get to kick off their home schedule on Saturday as the Hurricanes come to town for the back half of this home and home set. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. and you can hear the game live on The Eagle 94.1 FM starting with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m.