Brockman is the Swift Current Broncos’ man

Dean Brockman holds court in a media scrum in the 2016-17 season.

    Dean Brockman’s hiatus from the WHL didn’t last long, and he will likely be a great fit in his new stomping grounds.

    On Wednesday, Brockman was introduced as the new head coach and director of hockey operations for the Swift Current Broncos at a press conference in Swift Current. Brockman fills the void that was created when Manny Viveiros stepped down as the Broncos head coach and director of player personnel on May 24 to become an assistant coach with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.

    Brockman spent the previous four seasons working for the Saskatoon Blades. He was an assistant coach with the Blades in his first two campaigns with the club and spent the past two seasons working for the Blades as head coach. Brockman was released by the Blades on March 18.

    During Brockman’s run as head coach, the Blades posted a 63-68-10-3 record. He is credited with 62 of those victories having missed one of those wins to attend a funeral. The Blades posted a 35-33-3-1 mark this past season to finish three points behind the Raiders (32-27-9-4) for the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

    Saskatoon last made the WHL playoffs back in 2013.

    Before joining the Blades, Brockman, who will soon turn 51-years-old, was best known for his 17 years in the junior A ranks working with the Humboldt Broncos from 1997 to 2014 in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. He started as an assistant coach and assistant general manager before becoming the head coach and general manager in 2004. During Brockman’s years in Humboldt, the SJHL Broncos won the Royal Bank Cup for junior A supremacy in 2003 and 2008.

    Brockman comes on board with a Broncos WHL franchise that hit heights the club hadn’t seen in some time with Viveiros as head coach. Viveiros, a 52-year-old St. Albert, Alta., product, was in Swift Current for two seasons.

    In the 2016-17 campaign, Viveiros led the Broncos to a 10^th overall finish in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 39-23-4-6 record. The Broncos advanced to the second round of the WHL playoffs falling in a tough seven-game series to the Regina Pats, who would advance to the WHL Championship series.

Dean Brockman, centre, mans the Blades bench last season.

    This past season, Viveiros guided the Broncos to the second best record in the WHL’s regular season at 48-17-5-2. The Broncos set a record playing 26 games in the WHL playoffs winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup and capturing the league title for the first since 1993. Swift Current advanced to the Memorial Cup tournament to play for the CHL title.
    At the Memorial Cup tournament in Regina, Sask., in May, the Broncos went 0-3 in round robin play falling by a one-goal margin each time out.

    When Brockman steps behind the bench for the first regular season as Broncos head coach, they will have a much different look than the squad that won the WHL title in May. The Broncos begin the regular season on Sept. 21, when they host the Blades at 7 p.m. at the Credit Union i-Plex.

    Swift Current graduated three key overagers from last season in captain Glenn Gawdin, Giorgio Estephan and Matteo Gennaro. Last season, the Broncos finished carrying 11 players on their roster who were in their 19-year-old seasons and only three can return as overagers.

    Candidates who appear to be already out for consideration include star right-winger Tyler Steenbergen, who has signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Arizona Coyotes, defenceman Colby Sissons, who has signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils and netminder Stuart Skinner, who has signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers.

    Finnish left-winger Aleksi Heponiemi won’t be back for his 19-year-old season, because he signed a two-year professional contract with Karpat Oulu in Finland near the end of May.

    Gawdin, Steenbergen and Heponiemi combined to form a dynamic top line for the Broncos over the past two seasons. Sissons brought a steady presence to the Broncos back end for the past three seasons.

    Brockman will be overseeing the Broncos through a reloading period.

    The Broncos also need to replace director of hockey operations and head scout Jamie Porter, who officially resigned from the team on Tuesday.

    On Thursday, the Broncos took their first steps in their reload under Brockman selecting two players in the CHL Import Draft. The Broncos selected Finnish forward Joona Kiviniemi, who turns 17-years-old in December, in the first round and 59^th overall. Swift Current proceeded to pick up 17-year-old Finnish defenceman Roope Pynnonen in the second round and 119^th overall.

Dean Brockman runs a Blades practice last season.

    Brockman will be a good fit in his new stomping grounds. His departure from Saskatoon was one of those situations that comes up in the business of hockey were all involved decide to go their separate ways.
    He is a player’s coach and is very community minded. Brockman also goes to a community in Swift Current that is similar in a lot of ways to Humboldt. Both are tight-knit farming communities, where the main difference is Swift Current has a larger population than Humboldt.

    Swift Current is also the second smallest market in the CHL with the defending Memorial Cup champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League coming from the CHL’s smallest centre in Bathurst, New Brunswick.

    With his outgoing, personable and honest personality, Brockman is going to be an easy quick fit in Swift Current. Brockman is a person that is made to coach an entrenched community-owned franchise like the WHL’s Broncos.

Blades back to full stable with imports

    The Saskatoon Blades returned to having a full stable of import players after making two selections in Thursday’s CHL Import Draft.

    In the first round and 23^rd overall, the Blades selected defenceman Emil Malysjev, who has dual citizenship in both Sweden and Russia. Malysjev, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 187 pounds, played in Sweden’s top junior league last season with HV71, where he had four assists in 29 games.

    In the second round and 83^rd overall, the Blades selected forward Kristian Roykas-Marthinsen of Norway. Roykas-Marthinsen, who turns 19 in late August and stands 6-feet and weighs 186 pounds, was selected in the seventh round and 213^th overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.  

    He played in Sweden’s top junior league last season recording 23 goals and eight assists in 23 games with Almtuna IS.

    Before selecting Malysjev and Roykas-Marthinsen, the Blades didn’t have any import players on their roster due to the fact Russian defenceman Mark Rubinchik, who was eligible to return as a 19-year-old, signed a two-year, two-way contract to play for Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League back in May.

    Malysjev and Roykas-Marthinsen are expected to attend Blades training camp, which will open near the end of August.

Raiders pick Protas in Import Draft

    The Prince Albert Raiders made one selection in Thursday’s CHL Import Draft.

    In the first round and 26^th overall, the Raiders selected 17-year-old forward Aliaksei Protas from Belarus. Protas, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 179 pounds, played for the Belarus U17 Team in Vysshaya Liga, which is the development league for the Belarusian Extraleague. He recorded nine goals and 11 assists in 49 games.

    The Raiders have the potential to return both of their overage players from last season. Czech defenceman Vojtech Budik is entering his overage season and odds are high he will elect not to return to Prince Albert in order to pursue professional options.

    Defenceman Sergei Sapego, who is from Belarus and will enter his 19-year-old season, is expected to be back in the fold next season for the Raiders.

GoFundMe campaign for Vandervlis exceeds $67,000

Ryan Vandervlis drive up ice for the Hurricanes in April of 2017.

    The GoFundMe campaign that was set up to help Lethbridge Hurricanes centre Ryan Vandervlis has exceeded $67,000.

    On June 15, Hurricanes captain Jordy Bellerive, Vandervlis and former team member Matt Alfaro, who currently plays for the University of Calgary Dinos, were all involved in a mishap at the family home of former Hurricanes captain Tyler Wong just west of Calgary. Wong was hosting nine of his friends at the family residence, and they were planning to go golfing and camping the next day.

    There was an explosion from the campfire that was started that night at the Wong residence. Bellerive, 19, and Alfaro, 21, sustained burns to their upper bodies and Vandervlis, 20, sustained burns to the front of his body and was placed in a medically induced coma. Vandervlis was taken off dialysis on June 18.

    Vandervlis sustained critical injuries. The Red Deer, Alta., product is facing months of recovery and multiple surgeries. On Tuesday, Vandervlis emerged from his coma but remains in hospital in Calgary.

    Alfaro was released from hospital on June 21. Bellerive was released from hospital on Tuesday.

    While Alfaro and Bellerive won’t have a problem returning for the upcoming hockey campaign, hockey is likely the furthest thing from the mind of Vandervlis, who is slated to enter his overage season with the Hurricanes.

    The fundraising efforts will help him and his family get past this rough stretch.

    Anyone looking to donate to the GoFundMe campaign for Vandervlis can do so by clicking right here.

Stars and Contacts to move to Merlis Belsher Place

    The Saskatoon Stars and Saskatoon Contacts will play out of a new home rink next season.

    The Stars, who are the defending champions of the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League, and the Contacts, who have long been an elite club in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League, will play out of Merlis Belsher Place, which is being built on the campus on the University of Saskatchewan. The new multisport facility, which will have two pads of ice, is expected to be open in October.

    The Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association announced the switch of venues for the two teams on Wednesday. Merlis Belsher Place will be the new home of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s and women’s hockey teams.

    The Stars had been playing out of the Agriplace Arena. Last season, the Stars finished first in the SFMAAAHL with a 24-3-1 record, won the SFMAAAHL title for the third time in the last four years and advanced to the Esso Cup national championship tournament for the third time in the last four years.

    Saskatoon made the championship game of the Esso Cup held in Bridgewater, N.S., in April. The Stars fell 2-1 to the St. Albert Slash from Alberta, who won the Esso Cup for a second straight year.

During their history, the Stars have won the female title at the Mac’s Midget AAA Tournament twice.

    “Moving to a new state-of-the-art facility will help raise the profile of our program in the community and provide a sports and scholastic focused environment where our athletes will be exposed to ever expanding opportunities for both personal and team growth for years to come,” said Stars president Don Karnes in a statement.

    The Contacts have been playing out of the Schroh Arena. Last season, the Contacts finished sixth in the 12 team Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League this past season with a 20-18 record. They were swept 3-0 in the best-of-five first round playoff series by their archrivals the Prince Albert Mintos.

    The Contacts have won the SMAAAHL title on six occasions, the male title at the Mac’s Midget AAA Tournament twice, the bronze medal at the Telus Cup national championship tournament twice and Telus Cup national title in 2005.

    “The Saskatoon Contacts leave behind a rich history and tradition at Schroh Arena,” said Contacts president Jim McIntyre in a release. “We look forward to this great opportunity and the start of a new tradition at Merlis Belsher Place.”

    Approximately 1,500 hours of ice time will be dedicated annually for use by SMHA teams at Merlis Belsher Place, and the Stars and Contacts are expected to use less than 15 per cent of that allotted total. The SMHA will gain access to ice times vacated by the Stars and Contacts at their former home rinks.

    The Saskatoon Blazers midget AAA club will continue to play out of the Rod Hamm Arena. Last season, the Blazers finished eighth in the SMAAAHL and were swept 3-0 in a best-of-five first round playoff series by the Notre Dame Hounds, who moved on to capture the SMAAAHL title and the Telus Cup as national champs.

CBC story shows bonds of the Humboldt Broncos girlfriends

    On Friday, the CBC released an online feature focused on how the girlfriends of the players on the Humboldt Broncos were rallying together in their own group after the tragic crash of the team bus on April 6.

    Back on April 6, the bus carrying the Broncos team was involved in a collision with a semitrailer about 30 kilometres north of Tisdale. The Broncos were on their way to Nipawin for an SJHL playoff game against the Hawks.

    The crash resulted in the deaths of 16 players and team officials and injuries to 13 other players from the team.

    The girlfriends of the Broncos players gather together in Saskatoon from June 22 to 24 and made a trip out to Humboldt during that time. CBC followed their story and it was sweet and heartbreaking.

    The CBC feature of this remarkable group of young women can be found here.

    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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Steel cashes in on goalie gaff, Pats off to Memorial Cup final

Captain Sam Steel scored the winning goal for the Pats on Friday.

    If you give Sam Steel a golden opportunity, he is going to take it.

    On Friday night in the semifinal contest of the Memorial Cup tournament at the Brandt Centre, the host Regina Pats were holding a slim 2-1 lead in the third period over the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs. On a Regina dump in, Bulldogs netminder Kaden Fulcher came way out of his crease and nonchalantly passed the puck into an open area of the ice.

    The puck went on the stick of Steel, who is the Pats star captain. Fulcher fell down to the ice after being stick checked by Pats left-winger Nick Henry. Steel easily skated around the fallen goalie and placed the puck into an empty cage to give the Pats a 3-1 edge with 5:55 to play in the frame.

    That tally turned out to be very key. Just 73 second later, Bulldogs right-winger Will Bitten broke down the right wing of the Regina zone on a breakaway and lifted home a shot to the top right corner on Pats netminder Max Paddock to cut the Regina lead to 3-2. Bitten was sent in on his breakaway on a beauty spring pass from Bulldogs defenceman Benjamin Gleason.

    Hamilton couldn’t net the equalizer.

    Steel’s gift goal turned out to be the winner. He later came up with a key shot block in the final minute. Seconds after that shot block, Steel gave a set up to centre Jake Leschyshyn for an easy empty-net goal with 5.2 seconds remaining in the third to deliver the Pats to a 4-2 victory to send the announced sellout crowd of 6,484 spectators into a frenzy.

Pats centre Jake Leschyshyn scored into an empty net on Friday.

    With the win, the Pats improved to 3-1 in the CHL championship tournament and advanced to Sunday’s championship final to face the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan (2-1) at 5 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

    Besides Steel’s big plays, the difference in Friday’s contest was the play of the goaltenders on both sides.

    Fulcher had by far the best statics in the round robin portion of the Memorial Cup. He was good but not outstanding in the Hamilton goal on Friday turning away 20 of 23 shots sent his way, which included the lapse on Steel’s winning goal. The Bulldogs finished the tournament with a 2-2 record.

    Max Paddock, who is the Pats rookie 17-year-old netminder, had a couple of shaky games during the round robin portion of the tournament, but looked like a rookie phenom making 44 saves against the Bulldogs.

    His biggest stops came after the Pats lead shrank to 3-2. Bulldogs left-winger Marian Studenic drove down the right wing and had an initial shot stopped and a rebound shot turned away by Paddock.

Goalie Max Paddock made 44 saves for the Pats on Friday.

    After the Bulldogs pulled Fulcher for an extra attacker, Paddock stoned Bulldogs right-winger MacKenzie Entwistle on a wraparound and Bitten on the rebound chance.

    That set the stage for Steel’s shot block inside of the final minute and his set up to Leschyshyn for the empty-net tally.

    Inside the first minute of the first period, the Bulldogs tried to set a physical tone as defenceman Riley Stillman nailed Pats right-winger Cameron Hebig with a big open ice hit.

    The Pats struck first scoring 5:22 into the first period, when right-winger Austin Pratt knocked home the rebound from an Emil Oksanen shot to go ahead 1-0.

    The Bulldogs evened thing up at 1-1 at the 7:35 mark of the second, when defenceman Nicolas Mattinen one-timed home a shot from the point off a set up pass from Gleason. Mattinen had been a bit snakebitten in the Memorial Cup firing a number of shots off goalposts, which included hitting the crossbar of the Regina net late in the first period of Friday’s game. 

Cameron Hebig had a goal for the Pats on Friday.

    Regina jumped back out in front 2-1 at the 11-minute mark of the second, when Hebig fired home a shot from the front of the Hamilton net after taking a good set up pass from offensive defenceman Josh Mahura.

    A short time after Hebig’s tally, Bulldogs captain Justin Lemcke took down Pats left-winger Bryce Platt in one of the rare fights that have occurred in about the last two decades of the Memorial Cup tournament.

    Lemcke’s attempt to spark his club had mixed results, as the Bulldogs fired a lot of shots at the Pats net but there wasn’t an explosion of offence for the Hamilton side.

    The Pats as team blocked a lot of Bulldogs shot attempts, and Regina brought a bit of a physical game too. Regina defenceman Cale Fleury had a big hot on Stillman in the third period.

    A week ago on May 18, the Pats and Bulldogs opened the Memorial Cup tournament with a round robin game that was claimed by the Pats 3-2, when Henry scored the winning goal in that contest with 32.6 seconds to play in the third period.

    The Bulldogs finished third overall in the OHL’s regular season standings with a 43-18-4-3 record and advanced through the playoffs with a 16-5 mark. The Bulldogs took out the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in six games in the OHL’s Championship series.

Josh Mahura had an assist for the Pats on Friday.

    In the third period of Friday’s game, the Bulldogs lost a number of hustle plays and physical battles to the Pats.

    The Pats entered the Memorial Cup off a stretch of having 45 days off after being eliminated in Game 7 of a tough first round WHL playoff series on April 2 to the Swift Current Broncos, who won the WHL title. The Broncos were eliminated in the Memorial Cup after going 0-3 in the round robin with all three setback coming by a one-goal margin.

    The Pats finished seventh overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 40-25-6-1 record and will attempt to win their fourth Memorial Cup title in team history, with the last championship coming back in 1974 when the tournament was held in Calgary.

    The Titan finished second overall in the QMJHL’s regular season standings with a 43-15-8-2 record and went 16-4 in the playoffs. Acadie-Bathurst claimed the round robin clash with Regina at the Memorial Cup 8-6 on May 20.

    As five out of the seven games played at the Memorial Cup were decided by one goal and two were decided by two-goals, this Memorial Cup has been one of the tightest contested ever, and which should bode well for expectations of excitement in Sunday’s championship final.

Viveiros departs Broncos for NHL’s Oilers

Head coach Manny Viveiros mans the Swift Current Broncos bench.

    After two memorable seasons with the Swift Current Broncos, Manny Viveiros is moving on to the NHL.

    On Thursday at a news conference in Swift Current, Viveiros stepped down as the head coach and director of player personnel for the Broncos to become an assistant coach with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.
    The 52-year-old from St. Alberta, Alta., led the Broncos to a 10^th overall finish in the WHL’s regular season standings in 2016-17 with a 39-23-4-6 record. The Broncos advanced to the second round of the WHL playoffs falling in a tough seven-game series to the Regina Pats, who would advance to the WHL Championship series.

    This past season, Viveiros guided the Broncos to the second best record in the WHL’s regular season at 48-17-5-2. The Broncos set a record playing 26 games in the WHL playoffs winning the Ed Chynoweth Cup and capturing the league title for the first since 1993. Swift Current advanced to the Memorial Cup tournament to play for the CHL title.

    At the Memorial Cup tournament in Regina, Sask., the Broncos went 0-3 in round robin play falling by a one-goal margin each time out.

Manny Viveiros lifts the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    Before joining the Broncos, Viveiros coached Austria’s national team at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. After the Olympics, Viveiros coached ERC Ingolstadt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (Del) as an assistant coach in 2014 and head coach in 2015.

    In WHL circles, Viveiros is remembered for playing four season for the Prince Albert Raiders from 1982 to 1986 appearing in 251 regular season games collecting 60 goals and 261 assists. He helped the Raiders win the Memorial Cup in 1985.

    Viveiros was selected in the sixth round and 106^th overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the Oilers. He appeared in 29 NHL regular seasons over three seasons from 1985 to 1988 with the Minnesota North Stars collecting one goal and 11 assists. He spent 16 seasons playing professionally in Austria from 1991 to 2007.

    The Broncos also announced director of business operations Dianne Sletten is moving to other pursuits leaving the team after six seasons.

Does the “Curse of the Drop” still live?

    Friday marked the 10^th anniversary of one of the infamous and biggest blooper moments in the history of the Memorial Cup.

    On May 25, 2008, the WHL champion Spokane Chiefs downed the host Kitchener Rangers 4-1 in the Memorial Cup tournament’s championship game. It marked the second time the Chiefs captured the Memorial Cup to become CHL champions.

    After winning the title in 2008, Chiefs captain Chris Bruton accepted the Memorial Cup. Bruton turned and was going to give the Memorial Cup to defenceman Trevor Glass. Glass, who was in his 19-year-old season at the time, was with the Medicine Hat Tigers the previous campaign when they won the WHL title and fell 3-1 in the Memorial Cup championship game to the host Vancouver Giants.

    As Bruton reached out to hand the Memorial Cup to Glass, the trophy separated at the neck and fell to the ice to the shock of the spectators in Kitchener, Ont.

    Following that moment the WHL went on its longest drought ever of not winning major junior hockey’s biggest prize spanning five seasons from 2009 to 2013. Clubs from the WHL became eligible to play for the Memorial Cup on a regular basis in the 1970-1971 campaign.
    The drought was broken by the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2014. Edmonton was playing to honour the memory of former player Kristians Pelss, who was with Edmonton’s 2012 WHL championship team and passed away in 2013 due to a recreation diving accident.

    After the Oil Kings win, the WHL entry was unable to win the next three Memorial Cup tournaments. The WHL has won one of the last nine Memorial Cup tournament, so the host Regina Pats will try and make that record two for the last 10, when they face the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan in Sunday’s championship game (5 p.m., Brandt Centre).

    The video of the Chiefs mishap with the Memorial Cup can be found below.

    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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The heart of the WHL champion Broncos will live forever

The Broncos celebrate a goal from captain Glenn Gawdin, centre.

    REGINA, Sask. – They might have been running on fumes, but the Swift Current Broncos kept finding the emotional energy to keep pushing forward at the Memorial Cup.

    During their appearance in the CHL championship tournament, the Broncos showed the heart that allowed them to win the WHL championship this season. It marked the first time they won the league title in 25 years.

    The Broncos are responsible for the last three WHL championship victories by a Saskatchewan based club capturing the league crown this year, in 1993 and 1989. At the Memorial Cup, the Broncos were ultimately done in by the number of games they have played in the 2017-18 campaign.

    On Wednesday before a sellout crowd of 6,484 spectators at the Brandt Centre, the Broncos fell 6-5 to the host Regina Pats and were eliminated from making the Memorial Cup’s playoff round finishing last in the round robin at 0-3. Each Broncos setback came by a one-goal margin.

    Wednesday marked the 101^st time the Broncos hit the ice for a hockey game in 2017-18 including action in the regular season, WHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament. The Broncos played a record 26 games in the WHL post-season to capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    Broncos head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viveiros said fatigue was setting in for his club at Wednesday’s post-game press conference, but he loved the battle his player kept continuing to show.

Colby Sissons created late excitement for the Broncos on Wednesday.

    “Our mistakes were I thought throughout this tournament were tired mistakes,” said Viveiros. “Our group is tired.

    “I noticed that coming into this tournament especially going into the first game and especially in that second game. Our energy level was very, very low. Normally when you are tired, you are going to make mistakes.

    “I am so proud of that group. It is a real special group, and (they) work real hard.”

    Injuries were piling up too. The Broncos lost star right-winger Tyler Steenbergen due to a concussion in their first game at the Memorial Cup, which was a 4-3 overtime setback to the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan last Saturday. 

    Star captain Glenn Gawdin had been playing with a separated should since the third round of the WHL playoffs, and Russian import defenceman Artyom Minulin needs surgery to fix a shoulder injury that he has been playing with.

    While all those things were working against them, the Broncos heart showed on Wednesday, when they refused to go away trailing 5-2 in the third period. A comeback attempt was sparked, when star Finnish import left-winger Aleksi Heponiemi scored with 5:38 to play in the frame to cut the Pats lead to 5-3.

Captain Glenn Gawdin piled up points while playing hurt.

    After the Broncos pulled netminder Stuart Skinner for an extra attacker, overage star centre Giorgio Estephan lifted a shot over the shoulder of Pats netminder Max Paddock with 2:49 to play in the frame cutting the Pats lead to 5-4.

    Regina appeared to restore order, when Czech import defenceman Libor Hajek scored a power-play goal with 1:37 to play in the third giving the Pats a 6-4 edge.

    The Broncos still didn’t go away at that point. Gawdin collected the rebound from a point shot taken by offensive defenceman Colby Sissons and popped home a power-play goal with 49.5 seconds to play cutting the Pats edge to 6-5.

    Swift Current kept pushing right up to the final buzzer of the third. In the dying seconds of the frame, Pats centre Matthew Bradley poked the puck out to the centre ice zone, and the Regina side began celebrating victory including the players on the ice and the coaches and players on the bench.

Broncos fans were loud and proud cheering on their team.

    Sissons tracked the puck down and fired a Hail Mary shot towards the Pats net. The puck went past an oblivious Paddock and defenceman Josh Mahura into the goal with 0.1 seconds remaining on the clock. Four Broncos players were pinned deep in the Regina zone, so Sissons potential equalizer didn’t count as the play was ruled offside.

    It was physically impossible for those Broncos players to clear the zone to prevent any play from being offside in that situation.

    With that said, Sissons never say die effort symbolized the resolve of the Broncos for the entire 2017-18 campaign, and that resolve almost allowed them to continue playing.

    The team’s resolve was shared by the club’s fans, who traveled from Swift Current and area in droves for the squad’s three Memorial Cup games. A lot of the supporters were farmers who took a break from planting crops in the fields to go cheer on their hockey team. The Broncos fans were just happy to see their team competing in major junior hockey’s most prestigious tournament.

    The Broncos fans provided one of the warmest moments of the event on Monday, when they gave a rousing ovation to Skinner after he received a first star award for making 54 saves in a 2-1 loss to the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs.

Aleksi Heponiemi nearly sparked a rally on Wednesday.

    Swift Current’s story was so good that it would been nice to see it continue.

    Still, the Broncos gave Swift Current an area a season to remember. They finished second overall in the WHL with a 48-17-5-2.

    Steenbergen scored the gold medal game winning goal for Canada at the world juniors that wrapped up in January in Buffalo, New York. Of course, they had a memorable post-season run to capture the WHL title.

    The run included the “Miracle at the i-Plex,” where the Broncos overcame a 3-0 deficit to down the Everett Silvertips 4-3 in overtime in Game 2 of the WHL Championship series at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex. The Broncos won the league crown in Game 6 on home ice with a 3-0 win over the Silvertips.

    The heart of the 2017-18 Broncos will never be forgotten in Swift Current and area, and it will always be a warm memory in the city “where life makes sense.”

Media arrive at Memorial Cup in large numbers

Media members converge around Broncos goalie Stuart Skinner.

    In an era where the mainstream media has been cut to less than skeleton crew levels in Canada, it was a great to see a large media presence at the Memorial Cup.

    The media riser at the west end of the Brandt Centre has been full for all games at the Memorial Cup so far. The media scrums around players have been some of the largest I have seen in 19 seasons covering major junior hockey.

    Of course, all the media outlets from Regina are represented, and a number of media staffers have made appearances from smaller Saskatchewan centres.

    There has been some representation from media outside the province including a reporter from Prince George, B.C.

    For the younger members of the media, you can tell it is a big thing for them to be at the Memorial Cup. It was refreshing to see that as the number of people that cover the major junior hockey ranks in Canada on a beat writing basis has shrunk greatly over the last seven years.

    The more seasoned media members have enjoyed meeting the younger media members, but they seem to really enjoy renewing old links with other veteran media members they haven’t seen for a while.

    Face to face contact among media members covering sports doesn’t happen as often as it once did. With the way life changes, there is always uncertainty if you will cross paths with old friends from the media world in a media setting.

The media riser has been filled at the Memorial Cup.

    One of the best sights came after Wednesday’s round robin game, where the host Regina Pats downed the WHL champion Swift Current Broncos 6-5. 

    Due to the game starting at 8 p.m. local time, many were fighting deadlines and were trying to get work completed at an hour that wasn’t totally insane. For 8 p.m. starts, it is common for media members to finally leave the rink at 2 a.m.

    To help each other out, media members were sharing quotes and facts to help complete work faster.

    The influx of media members has to be viewed as a good thing for those that oversee the Memorial Cup. At a lot of national championship sporting events in Canada, you are often lucky to get a maximum of 10 members of the sports media out at your event. Often you might see less than five media members.

    About 20 years ago, one of the ways a sporting event was trumpeted as being a big thing was from the fact a large number of media members covered the event. That practice has long been abandoned, because of the dwindling numbers of sports media staffers in Canada.

    For those that manage the CHL, they can take comfort in the fact sports media member still want to go to the Memorial Cup, and it has a lustre. A lot of other national championship sports events in Canada can’t make the same claim.

Steel equaled record with five assist game

Regina Pats captain Sam Steel, right, had a record Wednesday night.

    Regina Pats captain Sam Steel joined some elite company on Wednesday night in the Memorial Cup record book.

    The star centre from Sherwood Park, Alta., collected five assists in the Pats 6-5 round robin victory over the WHL champion Swift Current Broncos before a sellout crowd of 6,484 spectators at the Brandt Centre. Steel equaled the record for most assists in one game at the Memorial Cup dating back to when it started to be played in a tournament format back in 1972.

    Two others also recorded five assists in one game at the Memorial Cup since it has been contented in tournament format. Back on May 14, 1985, centre Dan Hodgson had five assists for the Prince Albert Raiders, when they slipped past the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds 8-6 in a round robin game. The Raiders won that tournament held in Shawinigan and Drummondville, Que.

    On May 26, 2013, centre Jonathan Drouin of the Halifax Mooseheads recorded five assists in a 6-4 victory over the Portland Winterhawks in the Memorial Cup championship game, when the event was staged in Saskatoon, Sask.

    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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Oh my Gawdin! – Captain is the heart and soul of the Broncos

Glenn Gawdin celebrates a playoff goal for the Broncos.

    You can’t put a dollar figure on the street cred Glenn Gawdin has earned in the WHL.

    The overage centre has been a career member of the Swift Current Broncos having been selected by the team in the first round and fifth overall in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft. The Richmond, B.C., product has played in five complete regular seasons with the Broncos piling up 126 goals, 187 assists and a plus-69 rating in the plus-minus department in 312 regular season games.

    As a 16-year-old rookie in 2013-14, Gawdin, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 186 pounds, experienced a good campaign with the Broncos helping them compile a 38-25-3-6 regular season record before falling to the Medicine Hat Tigers in six games in a best-of-seven first round series. 

    After helping the Broncos make the post-season again as a 17-year-old sophomore, Gawdin experienced more of a down time with the Broncos as an 18-year-old, when the team missed the playoffs with a 24-38-7-3 record in the 2015-16 campaign.

    Between those good and bad times, his effort level never lapsed.

    Those times made the past two seasons that much more sweet. Gawdin became the Broncos captain near the start of his 19-year-old season, and the team rose to heights that haven’t been seen in Swift Current for about 15 years.

    Centring a line with star right-winger Tyler Steenbergen and dynamic Finnish left-winger Aleksi Heponiemi, Gawdin was cemented in the heart of creating the Broncos new good times.

    The Broncos posted a 39-23-4-6 record in the 2016-17 regular season and beat the Moose Jaw Warriors in a tough seven game series in the first round of the playoffs. In the second round, the Broncos took a 3-1 series lead on the Regina Pats before the Pats rallied for three straight wins for a 4-3 series victory.

Glenn Gawdin was the WHL playoff MVP.

    Gawdin piled up 26 goals and 33 assists in 52 regular season games and six goals and five assists in 11 playoff games in that campaign.

    Fans in Swift Current treated the 2016-17 season as exciting, memorable and a high point for the team. Little did they know, Gawdin and his guys were about to take them on an even better ride.

    In 2017-18, the Broncos rose to the status of being one of the powerhouse clubs in the WHL. They finished second overall in the circuit’s regular season standings with a 48-17-5-2 record.

    Swift Current battled through a quartet of tough teams in the playoffs. The Broncos took down the Memorial Cup hosting Pats in seven games in the first round, the Moose Jaw Warriors in seven games in the second round, the Lethbridge Hurricanes in six games in the Eastern Conference Championship series and the Everett Silvertips in six games in the WHL Championship series.

    Gawdin finished second in WHL regular season scoring piling up 56 goals, 69 assists and a plus-61 rating in 67 games. In the 26 contests the Broncos played in the WHL playoffs, Gawdin netted 14 goals, 18 assists and a plus-10 rating being named the MVP of the circuit’s post-season.

    He came through in the clutch delivering eight game-winning goals in the regular season and four game-winning goals in the post-season. His signature moment came in Game 3 of the WHL Championship series netting a hat trick in a 3-2 overtime win for the Broncos over the Silvertips in Everett on May 8.

    Steenbergen and Heponiemi both had memorable campaigns playing alongside Gawdin. Steenbergen had 47 goals and 55 assists in 56 regular season games and 12 goals and 15 assists in the Broncos 26 post-season contests.

    Heponiemi finished third in WHL regular season scoring piling up 28 goals and 90 assists in 57 regular season games. In the Broncos 26 playoff games, Heponiemi had five goals and 25 assists.

Glenn Gawdin raises the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    The trio of Gawdin, Steenbergen and Heponiemi will go down as one of the greatest lines in the history of the Broncos and the WHL.
    Away from the game, Gawdin always represented the Broncos with class out in the community and in the media.

    Broncos head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viveiros said Gawdin was a poster child for the WHL, a wonderful young man and an incredible ambassador for the league.

Truer words have never been spoken.

    Last November, Gawdin signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames. While he has an exciting professional opportunity, Gawdin can depart from the Broncos on a dream high.

    On Saturday, the Broncos begin play at the Memorial Cup tournament in Regina taking on the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan (2 p.m., Brandt Centre). The Broncos won their only Memorial Cup as CHL champions back in 1989. 

    If Gawdin can have a few more special games to help the Broncos capture the Memorial Cup again, he will always be the toast of Swift Current.

Steenbergen notes bigger significance of Broncos name

Tyler Steenbergen breaks up ice for the Broncos.

    Tyler Steenbergen is proud to be a career member of the Swift Current Broncos, but he noted his club is being driven due to his club’s nickname.

    Of course, the Swift Current WHL franchise shares the same team nickname as the junior A Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

    On April 6, the bus that was carrying the Humboldt Broncos to play a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoff game in Nipawin was involved in a collision with a semi-truck just north of Tisdale. The unthinkable event resulted in the deaths of 16 players and team personnel.

    The Humboldt Broncos bus accident hits really close to home for the community of Swift Current. The Swift Current Broncos suffered through a single-vehicle team bus crash on December 30, 1986 resulting the deaths of four players. The Swift Current bus flew off the highway having hit a patch of black ice shortly after leaving town on route to a road game in Regina to play the Pats.

    Steenbergen, who is the star 19-year-old right-winger with the Swift Current Broncos, knows how many links many people in the hockey community have to those that were on the Humboldt Broncos bus that day. He realizes everyone is trying to do their part to help the Humboldt club.

    After Swift Current Broncos won the WHL Championship series on Sunday with a 3-0 win over the Everett Silvertips before a sellout crowd of 2,890 spectators at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current, Steenbergen was asked what the win meant to him being a career member of the Broncos and thoughts of Humboldt’s SJHL franchise inevitably came to mind.

    “It is pretty special,” said Steenbergen, who has played four complete seasons with the Swift Current Broncos. “To hold the name as the Broncos, it is a thing we have taken huge since the (Humboldt bus) crash and everything.

    “I think moving forward we’re doing it all for them. I think a lot of teams are going to be doing that. At the end of the day, we just have to play our game and the best will come.”

A Swift Current fan displays a sign supporting two Broncos teams.

    The Swift Current club has two big links to the Humboldt club. Swift Current Broncos sales and events manager Ryan Gobeil’s younger brother, Morgan, was a Humboldt Broncos defenceman that was badly injured in the Humboldt bus crash. Ryan had Morgan’s heartbeat tattooed on his arm.

    Swift Current Broncos star overage centre Matteo Gennaro lost best friend Stephen Wack, who died in the Humboldt bus crash and was one of the team’s defencemen.

    The two Broncos teams have other eerie similarities that Steenbergen was likely not aware of. The Humboldt Broncos were born in 1970 as the junior A affiliate of the Swift Current Broncos. From that link, the Humboldt franchise gained its name and the green and gold colour scheme that used to also be worn by the Swift Current franchise.

    In the 1986-87 hockey season when the Swift Current Broncos bus crashed occurred, the Humboldt Broncos won the SJHL title, captured the Anavet Cup and played in the junior A national championship tournament at home. Humboldt fell in the Centennial Cup tournament final 5-2 to the Richmond Sockeyes from British Columbia.

    The Humboldt Broncos were the defending SJHL champions from the 1985-86 campaign.

    After the crash of the Humboldt Broncos bus this season, the Swift Current Broncos moved on to capture their first WHL title in 25 years and earn the right to play for the Memorial Cup in the CHL’s championship tournament in Regina.

    Could fate be on the side of the Swift Current Broncos? We might find out when the Memorial Cup championship game rolls around on May 27.

Henry delivers Pats to victory in Memorial Cup opener

Nick Henry scored the game-winning goal for the Pats.

    The host Regina Pats rediscovered some of their post-season magic from a year ago in Friday’s opening game of the Memorial Cup tournament.

    Locked in a 2-2 tie with the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs, Pats left-winger Nick Henry popped home the rebound of a shot from Czech import defenceman Libor Hajek with 32.6 seconds to play in the third period to deliver the host side to a 3-2 victory before 5,678 spectators at the Brandt Centre, which seats 6,484 spectators.

    The Bulldogs held a 1-0 lead after the first period on a goal by star centre Robert Thomas. Pats star captain Sam Steel tied things up at 1-1 just 19 seconds into the second period.

    The Bulldogs went ahead 2-1 on a snipe from right-winger Marian Studenic at the 13:14 mark of the second. Pats offensive defenceman Josh Mahura drove home a long range drive at the 15:30 mark of the second to even things up at 2-2.

    That set the stage for Henry’s winner at the end of the frame.

    Max Paddock, who is a 17-year-old rookie, made 31 stops and many of those were big ones to pick up the win in goal for the Pats. Kaden Fulcher turned away 27 shots to take the setback in goal for the Bulldogs.

    The Pats went a span of 45 days without playing a game before Friday’s contest. They last hit the ice on April 2, when they dropped a 3-2 decision in Game 7 of a best-of-seven first round WHL playoff series with the Broncos in Swift Current. The Broncos moved on to win the WHL title.

    In the 2016-17 campaign, the Pats made it to the WHL Championship series and fell 4-2 in the best-of-seven set to the Seattle Thunderbirds.

    The Memorial Cup continues on Saturday with the Broncos taking on the Acadie-Bathurst Titan at 2 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

    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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Broncos return to WHL mountaintop is inspiring

The Broncos veteran celebrate with the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. - At some point, fans of the Swift Current Broncos likely thought they would never see their team win a championship again.

    When the Broncos claimed the WHL title on Sunday night before a sellout crowd of 2,890 spectators at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current, the sight on the ice had to have felt surreal among the euphoric joy. The Broncos skated to a 3-0 victory in Game 6 of the league title series with the Everett Silvertips to take the best-of-seven set 4-2.

    It was one of those nights you wish would never end, if you were associated with the Broncos.

    Back in 2004-05, the Broncos missed the WHL playoffs posting a 22-41-6-3 record to end a streak where the franchise had made the post-season in 31 consecutive campaigns. During many points on that run of making the playoffs in consecutive years, the Broncos were often seen as one of the powerhouse clubs in major junior hockey, while playing in the smallest market of the Canadian Hockey League.

The fans at the i-Plex cheer on the Broncos.

    Since missing the post-season in 2004-05, the Broncos have been good, but they have never really been viewed as being great.

    From the 2004-05 season to the 2015-16 campaign, the Broncos won only one playoff series taking out the Regina Pats in a best-of-seven series 4-2 in 2008. Besides missing the post-season in 2004-05, the Broncos failed to make the playoffs in the 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2015-16 campaigns.

    During the time period from 2004 to 2016, it seemed like Broncos fans saw some of their best players go on to do brighter things with other clubs. In 2010-11, star forward Cody Eakin was dealt to the Kootenay Ice in a blockbuster trade.

Glenn Gawdin has been a great captain for the Broncos.

    With Eakin, the Ice won the WHL title and appeared in the Memorial Cup championship tournament to battle for the CHL title.

    In 2015-16, the Broncos dealt star forward Jake DeBrusk to the Red Deer Rebels, who were hosting that season’s Memorial Cup. DeBrusk helped the Rebels advance to the WHL’s Eastern Conference Championship series for the first time in 12 years and make an appearance in the semifinal of the Memorial Cup tourney.

    It felt like Swift Current had been given the unwelcome title of “outpost” status. From 2004 to 2016, you would often hear rumours that players didn’t want to go there because it was too much of a fishbowl.

    When players did get there, they realized the fishbowl effect did not mean the fans were hyper critical of the team and players. Like any major junior centre, criticisms do come up. What you did find was a group of fans that longed to love their team.

    If the people in Swift Current saw a Broncos player as a genuine good person, they would have your back in a serious way.

    Still, the fact that results weren’t coming on the ice was discouraging, and it was common to see crowds of around 1,800 at the i-Plex during many regular season games from 2004 to 2016.

Broncos head coach Manny Viveiros lifts the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    In July of 2009, the Broncos hired former NHL player Mark Lamb to be the team’s head coach and general manager, and he remained with the club until June of 2016 departing for a head coach position in the American Hockey League. 

    During his years in Swift Current, Lamb made it an emphasis and did a huge amount of leg work building up the respect of the Broncos to encourage players to come to the team and encourage fans to come out to games.

    When the Broncos were on the road, Lamb and Swift Current team members developed a reputation for being one the best groups to deal with among media in other centres. That was all part of the gritty leg work that was put in towards building a good reputation for the Broncos.

    Under Lamb, the Broncos brought in current stars in captain Glenn Gawdin and right-winger Tyler Steenbergen through the WHL Bantam Draft, Russian defenceman Artyom Minulin from the CHL Import Draft and offensive defenceman Colby Sissons as a list player. Lamb also acquired gritty left-winger Kaden Elder and sound defensive defenceman Sahvan Khaira via separate trades with the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Tyler Steenbergen (#17) has been a shining star for the Broncos.

    In July of 2016, the Broncos brought Manny Viveiros on board as the team’s head coach and director of player personnel. Viveiros was remembered in WHL circles for being an extremely talented offensive-defenceman with the Prince Albert Raiders from 1982 to 1986, and he played a key part in helping the Raiders win the Memorial Cup in 1985.

    He had a lengthy career playing professionally in Europe and transitioned into being an elite level coach once his playing days concluded. The Broncos made a great out of the box move in hiring Viveiros for his first head coaching position in North America. Often in the hockey world, coaches working overseas get overlooked when positions open in North America.

Aleksi Heponiemi has come through in big moments for the Broncos.

    Viveiros took over a good foundation that was in place and brought the Broncos to another level with their play on the ice. They added left-winger Aleksi Heponiemi from Finland before the start of the 2016-17 campaign and placed him on a line with Gawdin and Steenbergen.

    Together, that trio has become one of the best lines in the history of the Broncos and one of the most memorable forward units in the history of the WHL.

    The Broncos posted a 39-23-4-6 record in 2016-17, took out the Moose Jaw Warriors in a tough seven game first round playoff series before falling to the Regina Pats in a tough second round seven game series, which Swift Current had led 3-1.

    In Game 6 of the series with the Pats, the Broncos held a 3-1 lead in the second period and Gawdin had a breakaway on Pats netminder Tyler Brown. Brown made a robbery of a save to allow the Pats to rally back and take that contest 5-3.

Mascot Charlie Horse meets the Broncos’ fans.

    Had Gawdin scored on that breakaway, it was more than likely the Broncos would have taken that contest and advanced to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship series.

    During the process of the 2016-17 campaign, the loud and raucous sellout crowds of 2,890 returned to the i-Plex on a regular basis. With a solid core of veterans set to return for the team’s training camp in August of 2017, there was optimism around the Broncos that the team could hit greater heights.

    It still seemed those types of thoughts still belonged in a dream. Getting to Game 7 of the second round was treated like a major accomplishment to be celebrated.

    Going into 2017-18, the Broncos weren’t listed in the CHL’s Top 10 rankings in the pre-season poll. They would be a staple in those ratings for the rest of the campaign.

Netminder Stuart Skinner (#74) tracks the puck during a net scramble.

    The Broncos finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season with a 48-17-5-2 record. As the WHL’s trade deadline neared, they actually loaded up to help the team make a long playoff run.

    On Nov. 25, 2017, a blockbuster trade with Calgary Hitmen brought the Broncos skilled overage centre Matteo Gennaro and gritty left-winger Beck Malenstyn. On Jan. 9 a day before the WHL’s trade deadline, the Broncos acquired skilled overage centre Giorgio Estephan, star netminder Stuart Skinner and gritty right-winger Tanner Nagel from the Lethbridge Hurricanes in another blockbuster trade.

    In Swift Current, locals would have a hard time remembering the last time the Broncos made these “all in” types of moves on the trade front.

Centre Matteo Gennaro was a big addition from Calgary for the Broncos.

    Viveiros was named the WHL’s coach of the year and Heponiemi was voted the league’s most sportsmanlike player due to the regular season the Broncos had.

    The Broncos proceeded to advance through the first two rounds of the WHL playoffs downing the Pats in a tough seven-game series in the first round and the Moose Jaw Warriors, who finished first overall in the WHL in the regular season, in a seven-game battle in the second round.

    Having made the Eastern Conference Championship series for the first time since 2001, fans in Swift Current could have likely said it was a great run, if it ended there.

Colby Sissons has been a rock on the Broncos blue-line.

    After dispatching the Hurricanes in six games in an extremely competitive conference championship tilt, the Broncos were back in the WHL Championship series since last winning it in 1993. They would face the Everett Silvertips, who finished third overall in the league at 47-20-2-3 and had a superstar in net in Carter Hart.

    At one point, it looked like the dream would end there. Everett took Game 1 in Swift Current 2-1 and held a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes in Game 2 at the i-Plex. Little anyone know, the “Miracle at the i-Plex” was about to take place.

    The Broncos scored once in the second to pull to within 3-1. They entered the ice for the start of the third period behind a rousing ovation from their home crowd.

    With Steenbergen scoring with 1:37 to play in the third, the hosts pulled even at 3-3. Estephan competed the comeback scoring at the 9:27 mark of overtime to give the Broncos a 4-3 win.

    In Game 3 in Everett, the Broncos trailed 2-1 in the third period, and Gawdin came to the rescue. He had the equalizer with 3:17 to play in the third and scored the winner at 2:40 of overtime to complete a hat trick performance in a 3-2 Broncos victory.

Artyom Minulin has helped anchor the back end for the Broncos.

    The Broncos returned to Swift Current for Game 6 holding a 3-2 lead in the series. On Sunday at the i-Plex in Game 6, the Broncos and their fans lived out a dream night that culminated in a 3-0 championship clinching victory. 

    They persevered taking the title playing a record 26 games in one WHL post-season surpassing the 25 games played by the Portland Winter Hawks in 1979 and the Medicine Hat Tigers in 1986.
    The Broncos WHL title wins this year, in 1993 and 1989 mark the last three times a Saskatchewan team has captured the league crown.

    For the Broncos fans, they had to be beside themselves watching their team skate around the i-Plex ice surface and celebrate with the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Even the most optimistic Broncos fan might have thought that sight was impossible.

    Swift Current reclaimed its place as the “title town” of the WHL. In the city “where life makes sense,” the Broncos had proven that anything is possible.

The fans of the Broncos got to see their team win a WHL title at home.

    Now the Broncos will try to win their second Memorial Cup in team history. Their only CHL title win to date came on May 13, 1989.

    On that day, the residents of Swift Current descended on Saskatoon to watch their Broncos pull out a 4-3 overtime victory over the host Blades at Saskatchewan Place in the tournament’s championship game on Tim Tisdale’s winner.

    The Broncos qualified for this year’s Memorial Cup winning the WHL crown 29 years to the day of winning major junior hockey’s biggest prize.

    This year’s Memorial Cup is about a two-and-a-half hour drive east on the Trans-Canada Highway in Regina beginning on Friday when the host Pats face the Ontario Hockey League champion Hamilton Bulldogs (8 p.m., Brandt Centre).

Athletic trainer Jamie LeBlanc, left, and his daughter enjoy the WHL title win.

    The Broncos hit the ice for their first game at that event on Saturday against the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan (2 p.m., Brandt Centre).

    Broncos fans might to get see one more surreal sight, if their team lifts the Memorial Cup as CHL champions after the tournament’s title game on May 27.

    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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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.