Tonight’s Game vs Edmonton

BRONCO BANTER:  (Feb. 12^th: Swift Current 4 vs Kootenay 6) “Rider Night” was bittersweet for the Broncos as they fell 6-4 to the Kootenay Ice in front of a crowd of 2,525 at the Credit Union i-Plex last night.  Max Reinhart would start the scoring off late in the first notching two consecutive goals within 45 seconds apart and give the Ice a two goal lead.  Ice’s Brayden McNabb would follow up with a single before the end of the first to force the Broncos to trail 3-0 after twenty minutes of play. Two huge scraps would kick start the second period as home-grown Bronco Andy Blanke and Ice’s Brock Montgomery would go head-to-head, followed by a duel between former Bronco Captain Cody Eakin and Bronco defenceman Kyle Verdino.  Soon after, Ice’s Kevin King would be sent to the penalty box allowing Brad Hoban to capitalize on the man advantage notching his 18^th of the season and put the Broncos on the board.  Less than a minute later, Ice’s Matt Fraser would revive their two goal lead slipping one past Bronco netminder Mark Friesen.  A shorthanded goal by Taylor Vause late in the second period would close the gap once more and make it a 4-2 contest after forty minutes of play.  In the third period, both Jordan Peddle and Blanke would add singles within 20 seconds of each other to even the game at four.  The tie would be short lived though as Joe Antilla would give the Ice the lead again five minutes later.  In the dying minutes of play, the Broncos would pull Friesen for the additional man in hopes of evening the score.  Unfortunately, an empty-netter by Ice’s James Martin would seal the deal and make it a 6-4 final.  The Broncos had 27 shots on net while the Ice had 37.  On the man advantage, the Broncos were 1 for 5 while the Ice were 0 for 3.  The Broncos sit at ninth in the Eastern Conference, tied for points with the eighth place Prince Albert Raiders and three behind the Brandon Wheat Kings.

TEAM LEADERS:

Goals:            Justin Dowling/Brad Hoban – -18                             

Points:           Justin Dowling – – 61

Assists:          Justin Dowling – – 43                                               

PIM:              Kyle Verdino – – 108

 

LEAGUE LEADERS:     

Minutes Played (Goalie):      Mark Friesen – 3^rd – 2938       

Minor Penalties(D-man)       Kyle Verdino – 4^th – 44

Saves (Goalie):                   Mark Friesen – 3^rd – 1449         

Shut Outs (Goalie):             Mark Friesen – 5^th– 4

Goals Against Avg:             Mark Friesen – 16^th – 3.27        

BRONCOS RECORD BOOK:   Justin Dowling sits at 7^th on the Career Games Played list in the Broncos Record Book, having played a total of 276 games.  He is only two games behind the 6^th place Trent McCleary.

 

MILESTONES:  Taylor Vause reached the 100 career points mark last night…Reece Scarlett is on a five game point streak, having scored or assisted in every game since the February 2^nd match up with the Brandon Wheat Kings…Brad Hoban notched his eighth two-point game of the season having scored and assisted in last night`s match up with the Kootenay Ice.

 

AT HOME: The Broncos are 14-15-0-0 at home this season.

 

REGULAR SEASON VS EDMONTON:  This will be the fourth and final meeting between the Broncos and the Edmonton Oil Kings this season.  The Broncos are currently 5^th in the East Division, tied for points with the Prince Albert Raiders and 3 behind the Brandon Wheat Kings.  The Edmonton Oil Kings sit at 4^th in the Central Division 21 points behind the Medicine Hat Tigers and 22 behind the Kootenay Ice.  The Broncos are currently 1-2-0-0 against the Oil Kings this season.  5 year record: 7-5-0-3

10-11 score:

Oil Kings		BRONCOS
4		3		A	9-Oct
0		4		H	17-Oct
3		1		A	15-Dec
				H	13-Feb

VS CENTRAL DIVISION:  The Broncos are 8-11-0-0 against the Central Division so far this season.

SERIES LEADING SCORERS:  Taylor Vause (3G, 2A), Killian Hutt (1G, 2A). Justin Dowling (1G, 1A) and Jordan Peddle (1G, 1A) have been leading scorers in the Broncos vs. Oil Kings series this season.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Broncos power-play is 47 for 279, 16.8% (17^th) and the penalty kill is 82.5%, giving up 44 goals on 252 tries (7^th).

 

ROSTER: The Broncos roster currently consists of 25 players. The team has 3 – 20 year old players, 6 – 19 year old players, 6 – 18 year old players, 9 – 17 year old players, and 1 – 16 year old player. Geographically, 14 Broncos are from Alberta, 1 are from Manitoba, 4 are from Saskatchewan, 3 are from BC, 2 are from the Czech Republic and 1 is from Arizona. There are 8 rookies and 17 veterans on the roster.

 

INJURY REPORT:  Killian Hutt is out indefinitely with a concussion…Dillon Wagner is week to week with a knee injury.

 

UPCOMING GAMES:    The Broncos head to Brandon to take on the Wheat Kings on Friday, February 18^th for the front half of a home and home series. The Broncos welcome the Wheat Kings to the Credit Union i-Plex on Saturday, February 19^th.