Monday, 7 May 2018

Broncos’ comeback was epic, but WHL championship with Silvertips still a toss up

The Broncos and their fans celebrate last Saturday’s OT win.
    Will a magical Saturday night in Swift Current for the WHL’s Broncos lead to that franchise’s third league title?
    A sellout crowd of 2,890 spectators bore witness to the “Miracle at the i-Plex.”
    The host Broncos trailed the Everett Silvertips 3-0 after the first period expired in Game 2 of the WHL Championship series last Saturday. Everett captured the first contest of the best-of-seven set 2-1 the previous night.
    It appeared the Broncos were going to be down 2-0 in the series, when it switched to Everett, Wash., for Games 3, 4 and 5. The Silvertips, who finished third overall in the WHL regular season with a 47-20-2-3 mark, were the league’s top defensive team giving up the fewest goal in the regular season at 167.
    Everett’s net was being protected by Carter Hart, who backstopped Canada to a gold medal win at the World Juniors that wrapped up in January. Before the start of the series, Hart was named the WHL’s goalie of the year for a third straight campaign.
Riley Sutter and the Silvertips will respond at home.
    The Silvertips were 8-0 on the road up to that point in this year’s playoffs.
    Swift Current finished second overall in the WHL regular season with a 48-17-5-2 mark, but the task of making a comeback was daunting.
    After the Broncos finally hit the scoreboard in the second period to cut the Silvertips lead to 3-1, Everett had at least four prime chances to pull away again had it not been for the efforts of Broncos netminder Stuart Skinner.
    The Broncos faithful became more quite, but they didn’t pack it in. When the Broncos came out for the start of the third period down two goals, they were given a rousing and warm standing ovation from their fans. It was a site you normally don’t see at most hockey rinks.
    The hosts withstood early pressure from the visitors. Offensive defenceman Colby Sissons scored to pull the Broncos to within 3-2 and his billet brother in star right-winger Tyler Steenbergen netted the equalizer to force a 3-3 tie with 1:37 to play with Skinner pulled for an extra attacker.
    A pandemonium type celebration broke out when Steenbergen scored.
    It was repeated when centre Giorgio Estephan netted the winner at the 9:27 mark of overtime to give the Broncos a 4-3 victory and conclude one of the most memorable games ever played in the history of the WHL Championship series.
Broncos D Colby Sissons, left, eludes Silvertips LW Sean Richards.
    The series is tied 1-1 going into Game 3 on Tuesday at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett at 7 p.m. local time. Games 4 and 5 will be held on Wednesday and Friday respectively at the same venue.
    No matter how the series plays out, it won’t wipe out the special night the Broncos had. The “Miracle at the i-Plex” can reach a more lofty status, if the Broncos can win the series and advance to the Canadian Hockey League’s championship tournament – the Memorial Cup. The 100th edition of the Memorial Cup runs May 18 to 27 in Regina, Sask.
    As the WHL Championship series progresses, it is likely each game will have its own individual story.
    Both the Broncos and Silvertips present a feeling that they are both mentally tough.
    The Broncos didn’t appear rattled after losing Game 1 at home.
    The Silvertips didn’t emotionally hit the gutter after blowing their 3-0 lead to fall in Game 2.
Captain Matt Fonteyne (#17) and his Silvertips will regroup at home.
    During the Silvertips post-game press conference involving head coach Dennis Williams, captain Matt Fonteyne and defenceman Ondrej Vala, a question was thrown out to any member of the trio asking about not capitalizing on the missed chances when the team held a 3-1 lead in Game 2.
    Showing his leadership skills, Fonteyne answered the query and calm credited Skinner for his play and said the Silvertips can’t get too hung up on a good player making good plays.
    The Broncos had a special night in their Game 2 win, but it far from guarantees they will win the series. Broncos head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viveiros will have his players set for their next task going forward.
    The fact the series is tied 1-1 is likely where it should be.
    At the moment, the battle for the Ed Chynoweth Cup is a toss-up, and this could end up being another classic WHL Championship series.

Best of luck to the Cougars wrestlers and men’s v-ballers


    The athletes of the University of Regina Cougars men’s and women’s wrestling teams and men’s volleyball team are making their stand.
    On April 30, the University of Regina cut the three varsity programs that compete U Sports without warning. On Monday at Level 10 Fitness in Regina, the athletes from these programs held a press conference and 200 members from the wrestling and volleyball communities were on hand for the gathering along with members of the Regina media.
    Paul Tokarz and Jordan Tholl of the men’s wrestling team, Amber Wiebe of the women’s wrestling team and Michael Corrigan of the men’s volleyball team all presented an outstanding case that financial numbers don’t add up to the point where these programs need to be cut. They made a clear point on how cutting these teams will seriously damage these sports at the grassroots and high school levels in Regina and southern Saskatchewan.
    Alums and current members from the Cougars men’s and women’s wrestling teams and the Cougars men’s volleyball team fill numerous spots coaching and officiating their sports at all levels.
    The athletes went into details that they can’t transfer into athletic programs at other institutions due to the fact most teams have wrapped up their recruiting cycles and have allocated their scholarship funds.
    They stressed that if their teams could be cut without warning the same fate could be in store for the 13 remaining teams in the U of R’s athletics program.
    The athletes want their programs to be reinstated.
    Tokarz, Tholl, Wiebe and Corrigan gave an admirable performance that likely topped any performance they have given in competition.
    I like the fact they presented their case in a facility where many of the athletes from the U of R programs train out of, and invited U of R president Vianne Timmons, dean of kinesiology Harold Riemer and director of sport and community engagement and athlete development Lisa Robertson to be part of the media conference.
    That would require that trio to leave their comfortable confines of the U of R campus and actually step into the community. They elected to not attend.
    It would be really cool if the leadership of these athletes would be the thing that triggered the U of R to reinstated these three programs. These amazing young adults are handling themselves in a way more outstanding way than the older adults.
    The athletes from the wrestling teams and the men’s volleyball team will be meeting with university officials this week. I wish the athletes the best of luck in their efforts, and as an alum from the University of Regina, I am very proud of them.
    I hope the community of Regina and the alums of their programs keep supporting them in their efforts.
    These athletes should have never been forced into a situation where they have to lead the charge to get their teams back.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.
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