Tonight’s Game vs Regina

BRONCO BANTER:  (Feb. 23^rd: Swift Current 0 at Moose Jaw 3) The Swift Current Broncos upped their losing skid to six games Wednesday night as they were blanked 3-0 by the Moose Jaw Warriors at the Civic Centre Arena.  Less than three minutes into play Bronco Andy Blanke and Warrior Dylan McIlrath would drop their gloves and kick start the contest in style.  The game would remain scorless until midway through the first when Matt Grant would notch the first goal of the evening and give the Warriors the lead.  Seven minutes into the second period Sebastian Svendsen would put the Warriors up by two capitalizing on an Elbowing call to Bronco Blanke.  After forty minutes of play, the Broncos would trail 3-0 as Cody Beach would add an additional power play marker.  In the third period, veteran netminder Mark Friesen would be dynamite in net stopping all 21 shots by the Warriors.  Unfortunately, the Broncos wouldn’t be able to break the shut out as they would remain scoreless and the game would end with a 3-0 final.  The Broncos had 30 shots on net while the Warriors had 44.  On the man advantage the Broncos were 0 for 3 whereas the Warriors were 2 for 6.  The Broncos sit at eleventh in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Regina Pats and four behind the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

TEAM LEADERS:

Goals:            Justin Dowling – -19                                                 

Points:           Justin Dowling – – 63

Assists:          Justin Dowling – – 44                                               

PIM:              Kyle Verdino – – 117

 

LEAGUE LEADERS:     

Minutes Played (Goalie):     Mark Friesen – 3^rd – 3176       

Minor Penalties(D-man)       Kyle Verdino – 5^th – 46

Saves (Goalie):                  Mark Friesen – 3^rd – 1577         

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

Goals Against Avg:             Mark Friesen – 17^th – 3.36        

Losses (Goalie):                 Mark Friesen – 1^st – 32

 

DID YOU KNOW:  Bronco Captain Justin Dowling has scored a goal on every Eastern Conference team this season except the Calgary Hitmen.

 

BRONCOS RECORD BOOK:   Justin Dowling sits at 8^th on the Career Games Played list in the Broncos Record Book, having played a total of 277 games.  He is only one game behind the 7^th place Trent McCleary.  Veteran netminder Mark Friesen sits at 4^th on the Single Season Shutouts list with 4 and 8^th on the Single Season Saves list with 1577.

 

MILESTONES:  Justin Dowling is on a four game point streak having scored or assisted in every game since the February 5^th Brandon Wheat Kings contest, Dowling is also one goal away from notching his 20^th goal of the season…Brad Hoban is three games away from playing his 250^th WHL regular season game with the Broncos…Reece Scarlett is two assists away from reaching the 20 assists mark this season.

 

AT HOME: The Broncos are 14-17-0-0 at home this season.

 

REGULAR SEASON VS REGINA:  This will be the seventh of eight meetings between the Broncos and the Regina Pats this season.  The Broncos are currently 6^th in the East Division, one point behind the Regina Pats and six behind the Prince Albert Raiders.  The Regina Pats sit at 5^th in the East Division five points behind the Prince Albert Raiders and eight behind the Brandon Wheat Kings.  The Broncos are currently 0-5-0-1 against the Pats this season.  5 year record: 15-11-0-2

10-11 score:

Pats		BRONCOS
4		3		A	29-Sept
2		0		A	22-Oct
7		4		H	24-Oct
4		1		A	4-Dec
4		3		A	28-Dec
4		0		H	21-Jan
				H	25-Feb
				H	15-Mar

VS EAST DIVISION:  The Broncos are 11-21-0-1 against the East Division so far this season.

 

SERIES LEADING SCORERS:  Stepan Novotny (3G, 2A), Justin Dowling (2G, 4A), and Brad Hoban (2G, 2A) have been leading scorers in the Broncos vs. Pats series this season.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Broncos power-play is 48 for 289, 16.6% (17^th) and the penalty kill is 81.8%, giving up 48 goals on 264 tries (8^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…Justin Dowling is out day to day with an ankle injury…Jordan Evans is out one week with a concussion.

 

UPCOMING GAMES:    The Broncos host the Prince Albert Raiders on Tuesday, March 1^st.  Then, the Broncos head to Calgary, AB as they face the Hitmen on Saturday, March 5^th.