Broncos relentless in win over Red Wings
The Humboldt Broncos put a little distance between themselves and their competitors in the standings with a 4-1 win over the Weyburn Red Wings in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League action from Humboldt.
The Feb. 9 contest saw the Broncos pull five points clear of the Notre Dame Hounds, who lost in Kindersley, and seven up on the Red Wings for fifth in the league standings.
Broncos forward and captain Logan Schatz called it a huge win, noting it was especially important to not give Weyburn any points.
鈥淲e touched on that before the weekend and we knew it鈥檚 an eight-point weekend for us. And we got two big ones tonight with a really solid effort up and down the lineup and we鈥檝e just got to finish the job tomorrow and get four points.鈥�
Despite coming out of the gates flying, the game did not get off to the best of starts for the Broncos on the scoreboard as Jordan Kazymyra beat Parker Tobin on the Red Wings鈥� first shot of the game, putting the green and gold behind by a goal just 3:32 into the contest.
The home side refused to quit and were rewarded for their perseverance as Schatz picked up the puck in the Red Wings zone, skated around the zone, and fired a low shot into the back of the net, pulling the Broncos into a 1-1 tie.
The green and gold were dominant in the first period outshooting the Red Wings 19-6 in the period, including 12-1 in the first 12:53.
Despite the Red Wings having come in fresh off a game in North Battleford the night prior, Schatz noted there was not a lot of focus on that heading in.
鈥淵ou always want to make it hard on teams when they come into your barn but you can鈥檛 really put that into factor. They鈥檙e used to playing these three in three鈥檚 or four in five鈥檚. When you play it a couple times in the year you get used to it so you can鈥檛 keep that in the back of your head. We just came out, we knew what we had to do and we executed.鈥�
After a solid first period, the green and gold took over in the second scoring three times, as Jaxon Joseph, Nick Shumlanski, and Schatz all found the back of the net to give the Broncos a 4-1 lead.
Schatz鈥檚 goal came with under 1:30 to play in the period, and was huge he noted as it helped ease the club.
鈥淚t gives us a nice cushion, it鈥檚 not a two goal lead and it gives us a chance that we can make a mistake in the period and we don鈥檛 have to be gripping our sticks.鈥�
The green and gold鈥檚 domination was evident throughout the period, as they limited the Red Wings to very little offensively, allowing just six shots for the second period in a row as the Broncos won the second period shot battle 18-6.
Heading into the third period the Broncos held a 4-1 lead, and were outshooting the Red Wings 37-12.
After dominating the first two periods, the Broncos eased off in the third, managing just five shots as they were outshot 9-5.
With just 14 total shots in the third period, each netminder was up to the task turning aside all of them to give the green and gold the 4-1 win.
Parker Tobin picked up the win in the Broncos goal, turning aside 20 of the 21 shots he faced as the Broncos outshot the Red Wings 42-21.
It was a relentless effort for the Broncos, with Schatz noting all four lines were playing well and pushing the pace. 聽
鈥淲e鈥檙e a fast team and we work hard鈥� we gave up ten shots in the first two periods and that just shows to how fast and how hard we work and just pretty happy with the effort we had.鈥�
Broncos score early and often
The Humboldt Broncos left nothing up to chance dominating from start to finish in their 6-1 win over the Weyburn Red Wings in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League action from Humboldt.
The Feb. 10 contest saw the Broncos score three times in the first eight minutes and twice more in the second to lead 5-0 after two periods.
Getting that early lead was huge, noted netminder Parker Tobin.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good against a team that鈥檚 on the road coming into your home building to get on them early and never let them back in the game.鈥�
It was a particularly important win for the green and gold as they moved themselves seven points ahead of the Notre Dame Hounds, who lost to Battlefords, and nine points ahead of Weyburn for fifth in league standings.
Picking up four points is huge, says Tobin, who notes it should also serve to boost their confidence.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been winless against these guys in the last couple so it鈥檚 big to get two substantial wins over these guys. And we鈥檙e just rolling, everything鈥檚 clicking for us right now and it鈥檚 a perfect time for that.鈥�
The home side wasted little time getting on the board as Logan Schatz put the Broncos ahead 1-0 with his 21st goal of the season, just 1:10 into the opening period.
After Schatz put the Broncos in front, it was another Logan who would take over for the rest of the period as Logan Hunter scored his 18th and 19th goals of the season just over five minutes apart to give the Broncos a 3-0 lead just 8:47 into the opening period.
The game remained 3-0 for nearly 20 minutes, before Conner Lukan notched his 14th of the year to put the Broncos in front 4-0.
Derek Patter extended the lead to five goals with a nifty redirection off a Matthieu Gomercic shot at 10:14, as the Broncos took a 5-0 lead into the third period.
Connor Pyne finally got the Red Wings on the board at 12:25, snapping Parker Tobin鈥檚 shutout bid, but that was as close as they would get as Morgan Gobeil answered with his second of the year, giving the Broncos the 6-1 win.
Special teams were solid for the Broncos as they picked up a pair of power play goals, on five opportunities, while killing off all three power plays they faced.
Tobin picked up the win in the Broncos net turning aside 32 of the 33 shots he faced for his tenth win in 16 games this season, as the Red Wings outshot the Broncos 33-26.
Overall Tobin was pleased with how the team played, noting despite giving up 33 shots they were real solid in their own zone.
鈥淲e just kept them to the outside. They didn鈥檛 get very many chances from the middle, they didn鈥檛 get many second chance opportunities and we were just breaking pucks out really well. They鈥檇 dump pucks in and we鈥檇 be out right away and that definitely helps out in the defensive end.鈥�
The Broncos will look to move to the verge of wrapping up the fifth spot in SJHL standings when they take on the Hounds at home on Feb. 13.
The Hounds need a win to put pressure on the green and gold for fifth in the standings. The key to being successful will start in the defensive zone, Tobin notes.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to stay out of the box against them, they鈥檝e got a really good power play, they just capitalize on their chances so we鈥檝e got to keep our turnovers to a minimum.鈥�
