Preview: Broncos swing through Alberta before Christmas break
SWIFT CURRENT, SK – The Swift Current Broncos (6-19-1-2) are hoping for some success on the road before they relax over the Christmas break as they begin a three-game road trip in Edmonton against the Oil Kings (19-6-5-2) Wednesday night.
Saturday the Broncos dropped a hard-fought 5-3 game against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Jaxan Kaluski continued his impressive pace by picking up two goals and an assist in the loss.
Two goals just 55 seconds apart early in the second period put the Broncos on their heels, and while they fought back and controlled the game for the second half of the second period, scoring once to cut into the lead, an early power-play goal in the third period turned out to be the game winner.
Also picking up multiple points was rookie defenceman Hendrik De Klerk who has had an impressive rookie season with his hometown Broncos.
With his two helpers on Saturday, De Klerk is up to a goal and nine assists in 26 games this season. Perhaps more impressive is his +7 rating, far and away the highest on the team. De Klerk, Sergei Alkhimov and Hayden Ostir are the only players on the Broncos roster with plus ratings despite the team having a -64 goal differential.
The Oil Kings were also in action Saturday, dropping a 3-2 overtime game to the Calgary Hitmen on home ice. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak.
Jett Woo scored the winning goal for Calgary, though the Oil Kings still remain in top spot in the overall WHL standings as of Monday. The overtime loss was Edmonton’s league-leading fifth of the season, with the Broncos being responsible for one of those.
October 2 Edmonton was in Swift Current and Connor Horning’s goal lifted Swift Current to a 4-3 win.
The Broncos will play again in Edmonton Friday before finishing off the trip in Red Deer Saturday. The team will then be off until December 27 when they host the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Season Series
October 2, 2019 – Broncos 4 vs Oil Kings 3 OT Boxscore
December 11, 2019 – Broncos @ Oil Kings
December 13, 2019 – Broncos @ Oil Kings
January 22, 2020 – Broncos vs Oil Kings
March 6, 2020 – Broncos @ Oil Kings
Leading Scorers
| Player | Goals | Assists | Games Played |
| Ethan Regnier | 7 | 8 | 24 |
| Jaxan Kaluski | 6 | 6 | 15 |
| Sergei Alkhimov | 4 | 6 | 28 |
Edmonton Oil Kings
| Player | Goals | Assists | Games Played |
| Riley Sawchuk | 12 | 24 | 32 |
| Jake Neighbours | 8 | 24 | 32 |
| Josh Williams | 14 | 17 | 32 |
Special Teams
| Team | Power Play | Penalty Kill |
| Swift Current | 10.3 (22nd) | 72.4 (21st) |
| Edmonton | 21.2 (6th) | 85.8 (3rd) |
