Broncos get doubled up by Pats in Game 4
The Swift Current Broncos entered Wednesday night seeking to grab a stranglehold of their East Division rival Regina Pats and get a 3-1 series lead in Round One but it wasn’t meant to be as they were doubled up by a 6-3 score at the Brandt Centre.
Pats forward Cameron Hebig found himself in perfect position near the Broncos crease, tapping home a rebound chance off an initial shot from Robbie Holmes and it was 1-0 Regina 2:28 into the contest.
Emil Oksanen recorded his second of the postseason on a Regina power play as the Broncos struggled to get anything going on both ends of the ice through the opening 20 minutes, getting outshot 12-6.
Calgary Flames prospect and Bronco captain Glenn Gawdin blasted a one-timer from the left faceoff circle by Pats netminder Ryan Kubic to get things going for Swift in the second period. The goal came on the power play with Tyler Steenbergen and Aleksi Heponiemi registering assists.
Jared Legien recovered the Pats two-goal lead as he entered the zone and released a wrist shot from the high slot with Josh Anderson covering him and it got by netminder Stuart Skinner, making it a 3-1 game.
Regina kept striking as Libor Hajek and Jake Leschyshyn each registered their first goals of the postseason, building the Broncos deficit to 5-1 and chasing Skinner from the Bronco crease as backup Joel Hofer entered the game.
Steenbergen tallied his second of the playoffs as his goal was similar to Gawdin’s marker earlier, being a one-timer from the offensive zone faceoff dot on a Broncos power play. It was a 5-2 game when period number three got underway.
The Broncos notched their third power play goal of the game when 20-year-old Matteo Gennaro shoveled one past Kubic from just a couple feet from the Pats crease. Heponiemi gathered his third power play assist of the game on the play.
5-3 was the score when the Broncos pulled Hofer for an extra attacker with two minutes and change on the clock, but a comeback wasn’t in store as Leschyshyn sealed the game with an empty netter.
Shots on goal were 29-28 in favour of Swift Current. The Broncos power play was outstanding in finishing the night 3/6 while the Pats went 2/4 on their man advantages.
The next instalment of this Round One classic goes on Friday, March 30th at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex when the Broncos host the Pats for a critical Game 5. Puck drop is at 7:00pm MT.
