Broncos Comeback to Force Overtime But Fall to Oil Kings 5-4
The Swift Current Broncos completed an epic third period comeback, scoring four times to force overtime but Aaron Irving ended it for the Oil Kings 29 seconds into the extra frame as the Broncos dropped a 5-4 decision.
Davis Koch put the Oil Kings up early after picking up a rebound and sliding it by Bronco goaltender Travis Child 4:56 into the game. The goal came on an Edmonton power play with Adam Berg and Lane Bauer collecting the assists.
Branden Klatt and Nicholas Bowman scored goals 25 seconds apart to make the game 3-0 for the Oil Kings midway through the second period on a pair of odd man rushes.
Broncos forward Arthur Miller was awarded a penalty shot but his backhand attempt was stopped by Oil Kings goaltender Patrick Dea.
The Oil Kings offence kept coming as Lane Bauer added his team-leading eighth goal of the season to increase the lead to 4-0. Shots on goal were fairly close between the two clubs, being 26-23 for Edmonton.
The Broncos refused to quit and the rally was on in the third period. Tyler Steenbergen scored his 11th goal of the season on a five-on-three power play to get the Broncos on the board at the 3:47 mark.
At the 7:02 mark, import forward Aleksi Heponiemi made a nice pass from behind the Oil King net to find an open Kade Jensen who netted his second goal of the campaign to cut the deficit in half 4-2.
Steenbergen then potted his second of the night on yet another Bronco power play and just like that, the score was 4-3 with over nine minutes to go in the period. Max Lajoie took the initial shot which was blocked but Steenbergen picked the puck up and went top shelf.
With the Bronco net empty in the final minute of play, the Broncos tied it up in dramatic fashion as Artyom Minulin fired a wrist shot through traffic and into the back of the net to send the crowd into a frenzy.
In three-on-three overtime, Steenbergen was denied by Oil Kings netminder Patrick Dea on a gorgeous scoring opportunity seconds into the extra frame. That was immediately followed by a breakaway chance by Oil Kings captain Aaron Irving and he scored to seal the 5-4 victory for Edmonton.
“It was a great comeback in the third but we dug ourselves that hole from the get go in the first period,” said Steenbergen in a post-game interview. “You know, we need to play a full 60 minute game to win.”
Special teams played a major role in this one as both clubs finished 2/5 on the man advantage. The Broncos edged the Oil Kings in shots 36-35.
The Broncos return to action on Friday, November 4th when they welcome the Calgary Hitmen to town for a home-and-home set. Puck drop is set for 7:00pm.
