Game Notes February 21st Broncos Host Raiders
Game Notes February 21st vs Prince Albert
VS Prince Albert: This is the 6th meeting of these teams in 2014-15. Prince Albert is 4-0-1-0 while the Broncos are 1-2-1-1 vs The Raiders. The last meeting of these two teams was a 2-1 Raider regulation win in Swift Current. Prince Albert’s Reid Gardiner has 8 points this season to lead the series in scoring for Prince Albert while Jake Debrusk has 4 points in five games for Swift Current. Both teams are coming off wins last night with Swift Current beating Red Deer 4-2 and PA beating Brandon 6-4.
Standings: Swift Current is 28-25-1-4 which is 3rd in the East Division and 6th in the East Conference. Prince Albert is 10 points back of the Broncos in the WHL Eastern Division with a 24-32-2-1 record which puts them 5th in the division and 10th in the conference. The Broncos are 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 while Prince Albert is 4-4-1-1.
Bow in the Book: Landon Bow recorded his league leading 7th shut-out of the season last Friday night in Regina. With that, Bow is the sole holder of the Broncos single season shut-out record. Bow is 2 time Vaughn CHL goaltender of the week. In NHL Central Scouting’s November ‘Ones to Watch’ Report, The 19 year old Bow entered the mix as a C prospect. Bow has made the most saves in the WHL with 1568 and has the league’s 2nd best save percentage at .916
Injuries: Dillon Heatherington remains out 1-3 weeks with an upper body injury. Cole Johnson and Jordan Harris remain out indefinitely.
When leading after 2: The Broncos have not lost a game in regulation when leading after 2 periods. They are 21-0-0-1.
Debrusk on the Button: Jake Debrusk has 14 points in his last 11 games including 9 goals. On TSN’s popular ‘Craig’s List’ feature which is compiled by Craig Button Debrusk was ranked 24th among draft eligible prospects. Glenn Gawdin of the Broncos was 96th on the list.
Where’s Josh?: The Broncos bench won’t have Associate Coach Josh Dixon on it for this weekend’s games. Dixon is the head coach of Team Saskatchewan at The Canada Winter Games in Prince George.
Prime Time Broncos: Dillon Heatherington was a member of the Team Canada’s IIHF Gold Medal winning team. Jake Debrusk and Glenn Gawdin suited up in the BMO CHL Top Prospects game. Gawdin had an assist in a 6-0 Team Orr Win over Debrusk and Team Cherry.
Special Teams: The Bronco Power-play is 21.3%. At home the Swift PP operates at 30.8%. The Bronco penalty kill recently dropped to 2nd in the league at 85.1% just trailing Red Deer at 85.2%. On the road, the Bronco PK is 88.5%
League leader in Majors: Bronco forward Tanner Lesann leads the league in major penalties with 14.
Trade Tracker: This season,the Broncos traded 18 year old Dakota Odgers to the Vancouver Giants for a 5th round bantam pick in 2015. The Broncos acquired 20 year old forward Carter Rigby from the Kelowna Rockets in exchange for a 2016 3rd round bantam pick. The Broncos traded for defenceman Ayrton Nikkel (95) from Saskatoon for defenceman Cole Bevan (96) and a 7th round bantam pick in 2015. In a late December deal, the Broncos added Griffin Foulk from Lethbridge in exchange for a 2016 conditional 8th round bantam draft pick. The Broncos acquired Jordan Thomson from the Saskatoon Blades along with a 1st round bantam pick in 2016 for Brycen Martin and a conditional 5th round bantam pick. At the trade deadline, the Broncos added 18 year old forward Miles Warkentine from Lethbridge for a conditional 7th round pick.
Iron Men: Bronco captain Colby Cave suited up for all 72 games in 2013-14 and 2012-13. Jay Merkley, Jake Debrusk, Brycen Martin, Brett Lernout and Zac Mackay also made appearances in all 72 contests in 2013-14.
Drafted Broncos: The Broncos have 3 players on their roster that have been drafted by NHL teams. Dillon Heatherington was a 2nd round selection of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013. Brett Lernout was drafted in the 3rd round in 2014 by Montreal. Broncos forward Coda Gordon was drafted in 2012 by the Calgary Flames, but went unsigned and is a Free Agent.
