Broncos Battle Back, Fall 5-4 to Royals in Victoria
Despite the result, the Swift Current Broncos put together a strong effort Friday night, battling back from a three-goal deficit before ultimately falling 5-4 to the Victoria Royals at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.
Victoria opened the scoring 4:30 into the first period when Odin Vauhkonen scored on the power play.
The Royals doubled their lead on another power play at 12:08 when Filip Novak found the back of the net, giving Victoria a 2-0 advantage through 20 minutes.
Swift Current got on the board 7:23 into the second period when Kayd Ruedig scored his first of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Victoria answered just 53 seconds later as Cameron Schmidt restored the Royals’ two-goal advantage. Wyatt Danyleyko then scored at 9:09 to make it 4-1 Victoria.
The Broncos responded with two goals before the end of the period. Jacob Beaulieu scored his second of the season at 11:24 off a feed from Hudson Kibblewhite to make it 4-2.
Trae Wilke brought Swift Current within one at 16:56, scoring his second of the season with assists from Yuri Vlasenko and Jace McFaul. The Broncos headed into the second intermission trailing 4-3 after scoring three times in the middle frame.
Swift Current completed the comeback just 3:33 into the third period. Ruedig scored his second of the night, assisted by Beaulieu and Sawyer Dingman, to tie the game at four. The two-goal performance earned Ruedig second-star honours.
The tie held until 9:50, when Schmidt scored on the power play to put Victoria back in front 5-4. The goal stood as the game-winner as the Broncos were unable to find another equalizer.
The Broncos continued to push for the equalizer and were given a late power-play opportunity. Swift Current pulled the goaltender for an extra attacker, creating a 6-on-4 advantage and generating several good chances around the Victoria net. Despite the late pressure, the Broncos couldn’t find the back of the net as the Royals held on for the 5-4 victory.
Despite the loss, Swift Current put together a strong performance against Victoria, battling back from a 4-1 deficit and pushing the Royals until the final buzzer. Victoria outshot Swift Current 29-23 and finished 3-for-6 on the power play, while the Broncos went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
The Broncos are now 2-2-0-0 on the season and continue their B.C. Division road trip on Saturday, October 3 against the Vancouver Giants.
