An Exuberant Ending in Speedy Creek Saturday Night
It was Chills and Thrills at the Credit Union I-Plex on Saturday night as fans made their way to the rink in costumes to celebrate the Halloween season and they witnessed a thriller.
Tyler Steenbergen netted the winner late in three-on-three overtime to give the Swift Current Broncos an exciting 3-2 victory over the Spokane Chiefs and send the fans home happy.
The boys in blue kept up their recent trend of starting quickly with a goal from Broncos forward Conner Chaulk midway through the opening frame. Chaulk scored shortly after the Chiefs killed off a minor penalty with line mates Tyler Adams and Cole Johnson collecting the assists.
Evan Fiala responded for Spokane with a hard wrist shot by Broncos goaltender Travis Child for his first goal of the season that went unassisted to tie it 1-1.
The Broncos took advantage of a roughing penalty from Chiefs’ forward Kailer Yamamoto as Lane Pederson one-timed a quick one-touch pass from Steenbergen with nine seconds remaining in the first period, putting the Broncos back up 2-1.
With the score still 2-1 in the third period, the Chiefs pressed to tie the game up and were finally rewarded with Tanner Wishnowski scoring to make it a 2-2 game.
The Broncos survived a late tripping penalty from Kaden Elder with several key saves from Broncos netminder Travis Child to go along with a blocked shot from Steenbergen in the final seconds of regulation.
Three-on-three overtime was required and it was tense since both teams traded several chances throughout the extra session. That was when Steenbergen made a terrific individual effort to get around the Chiefs defender as well as a poke check attempt by goaltender Dawson Weatherill before tucking it home to seal the 3-2 win.
“The most important part is we got the two points,” said Child. “It took a little extra time but that was big for us.”
Travis Child was spectacular in backstopping 45 shots to earn second star honours while Steenbergen claimed first star mentions.
Shots on goal were 47-27 in favour of Spokane. Swift Current went 1/4 on the power play and held the Chiefs scoreless in four power play attempts.
The Broncos continue their four-game home stand on Wednesday night when the Edmonton Oil Kings make their way down to the Credit Union i-Plex. Puck drop is set for 7:00pm CST.
