Boston Pizza Game Recap: Wild Finish Earns the Broncos a Point in 6–5 Shootout Loss
The Swift Current Broncos battled all the way back but fell 6–5 in a shootout to the Saskatoon Blades on Friday night at SaskTel Centre.
It wasn’t the start the Broncos were looking for, as Saskatoon struck twice in the opening period to take a 2–0 lead after 20 minutes. The Blades extended the margin just under seven minutes into the second on the power play to make it 3–0, but Swift Current refused to fold. Momentum began to shift midway through the frame when Brock Burch buried his second of the season at 11:52, assisted by Brendan Rudolph. Just over two minutes later, Rudolph found the back of the net himself at 14:07 off a feed from Carter Moen, cutting the deficit to 3–2 and breathing life into the Broncos bench.
The push carried into the third. Trae Johnson pulled the Broncos even at 9:45 with his second of the season, as a Colton Alain point shot ricocheted off the Blades goaltender’s chest, off Johnson, and into the net. Saskatoon answered at 11:41, but Swift Current responded again on the power play when Trae Wilke finished a Carter Moen and Brendan Rudolph setup at 16:22 to tie the game 4–4.
Late drama unfolded in the final minute. While killing off a penalty, the Broncos were fighting for a loose puck from a defensive-zone faceoff and somehow Saskatoon was able to rifle the puck into the back of the at 19:52 to seemingly seal the win. But Swift Current had one more surge left. Following an icing call with just over two seconds remaining, Wilke stepped in for the offensive-zone draw and wired a perfectly timed shot straight off the faceoff, beating the buzzer with 1.4 seconds left to force overtime in stunning fashion.
Neither side could solve things in overtime, sending the contest to a shootout. Both teams scored in the opening round, but it was Saskatoon who struck in the fifth round to secure the extra point.
The Blades outshot the Broncos 34–22 and won the faceoff battle 35–20. Swift Current finished 1-for-5 on the power play, while Saskatoon went 2-for-4. Archer Cooke turned aside 28 of 33 shots in the effort.
With the shootout loss, the Broncos earn a point — their 30th of the season — and now sit at 13-35-3-1. They’ll look to bounce back Saturday night when they return home to the InnovationPlex to host the Brandon Wheat Kings.
