If you knew Skinner in the WHL, it is easy to cheer for him

Stuart Skinner raises the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2018.

“Skin-Ner.”

Inevitably, that would be something Stuart Skinner heard every time played goal in an opposing WHL rink. In suiting up for three-and-a-half seasons with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and a half campaign with the Swift Current Broncos from 2014 to 2018, someone in an opposing rink would inevitably get up and bellow out “Skin-Ner” is his or her best imitation of Simpsons character superintendent Gary Chalmers.

During the 2018 WHL Playoffs as Skinner was backstopping the Broncos to a WHL championship win, he was asked about that heckle. The star netminder, who was 19-years-old at the time, took that noise with some amusement.

“I’ve been around it for four years,” said Skinner at that time. “I hear it every place I go.

“I like it. I think it gives more energy and kind of gets me pumped up.”

These days Skinner, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 230 pounds, is a 25-year-old professional goaltender who has played last season and the current campaign full time in the NHL for his hometown Edmonton Oilers. He has backstopped the Oilers to their first appearance in the Stanley final since 2006.

The Oilers currently trail the best-of-seven Stanley Cup final series 1-0 to the Florida Panthers. Game 2 is set for Monday in Sunrise, Florida (6 p.m. Saskatchewan time, Sportsnet West).

Back in his WHL days, Skinner was good natured and had a good youthful energy to him. It felt like nothing ever got to him, and he had a lot of fun handling the big moments. In 207 career regular season contests played between the Hurricanes and Broncos, Skinner posted a 104-72-15 record, a 3.22 goals against average, a .908 save percentage and 12 shutouts.

It seemed like he was made for the big moments. He was also made for fun moments too like on March 18, 2016, when he scored an empty-net goal for the Hurricanes in a 9-3 home ice victory over their biggest rivals the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Stuart Skinner dives on a puck for the Hurricanes in 2017.

The packed crowd of 5,320 spectators at the Enmax Centre broke into a thunderous ovation as Skinner made sure to do the goal scorer’s flyby of his team’s bench. At that point in time, not too many people saw someone do a goal scorer’s flyby dressing in full goalie gear.

Skinner was a key reason the Hurricanes went on a long playoff run in 2017 and the Broncos captured the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions in 2018.

In the 2017 WHL Playoffs, Skinner backstopped the Hurricanes to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship Series for the first time in nine years. They fell in the conference title series in six games to the Regina Pats.

During the 20 contests the Hurricanes played in the post-season, Skinner posted a 10-10 record, a 3.09 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.

On January 9, 2018, Skinner was dealt to the Broncos in a blockbuster deal as Swift Current was loading up for a potential long run through the post-season. 

With Skinner holding the fort in goal, the Broncos won their first WHL championship since 1993. In 26 games in the WHL Playoffs, Skinner posted a 16-10 record, a 2.20 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and six shutouts.

Skinner’s sixth shutout was a 31-save beauty as the Broncos claimed the WHL Championship Series win a 3-0 win over the Everett Silvertops in Game 6 before a sellout crowd of 2,890 spectators at the then Innovations Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current.

At the Memorial Cup tournament that was hosted in 2018 in Regina, the Broncos were playing on fumes at the event that crowns a CHL champion. They were trying, but it was noticeable the battles they went through in the WHL post-season took their toll.

Stuart Skinner (#74) got the Hurricanes to a conference final in 2017.

While the Broncos lost all three of their games at that event, Skinner posted a .902 save percentage. In a round robin clash against the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs, Skinner made 54 saves trying to steal a game the Broncos would ultimate lose 2-1.

In the professional ranks, Skinner would face a whole different challenge. 

He was selected by the Oilers in the third round and 78^th overall by the Oilers in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The Oilers signed him to three-year NHL entry-level contract on May 14, 2018.

Skinner spent his first two seasons as a professional playing in the Oilers minor league system. He made his first NHL start in the 2020-21 campaign, and played 13 games for the Oilers in the 2021-22 campaign before becoming a full time member of the team in 2022-23.

He has put up some good numbers so far in his NHL career. In 123 career regular season games with the Oilers, Skinner has posted a 72-36-10 record, a 2.69 goals against average, a .909 save percentage and four shutouts.

If you know someone who plays in the NHL for a Canadian team, it is advised to not look at the Platform-X social media line. That goes double if the person you know is a goalie for his hometown Canadian team.

While Skinner was a finalist last year for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year, it seems like some of the Oilers supporters in the social media world expect Skinner to be Patrick Roy right now. When struggles have come Skinner’s way, some Oilers fans will basically post their team would be better off with anyone else in goal.

Stuart Skinner helped bring a WHL title to Swift Current in 2018.

In the WHL, those who play for their hometown teams are viewed that much bigger of being a hero when they succeed in good times and take seemingly twice the harder criticism in the bad times. Those extremes are seen in a larger way at the NHL level.

The Oilers dropped Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final 3-0 on Saturday in Florida despite holding a 32-18 edge in shots on goal. 

Skinner stopped 15-of-17 shots sent his way. He had no chance on the two goals the Panthers scored on him, and the Florida side sealed the win with an empty-net tally.

Still, you are going to hear voices about how Panthers star netminder Sergei Bobrovsky is going to put Skinner in his back pocket in this series. Bobrovsky was sensational making 32 saves for the shutout in Game 1, where the Oilers likely would have had seven or eight goals on any other netminder.

For those that knew Skinner during his WHL days, the soft spot in the heart for him is always there. If the Oilers ultimately don’t win this series, you hope the there won’t be an effort by some fans in Edmonton to run him out of town.

If that materializes, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Vegas Golden Knights and their brilliant general manager Kelly McCrimmon swoop in to pick him up.

Right now, it would be preferable if the storybook situation plays out here. 

Stuart Skinner will try to add a Stanley Cup win to his resume.

That would see the Oilers become the first Canadian based team to win the Stanley Cup since the 1993 victory by Roy and the Montreal Canadiens, and Skinner materializes as the ultimate hometown hero in the Alberta capital city along the way.

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

-------

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.

“Man of Steel” rises again for Pats in 6-5 win over Broncos

Regina eliminates Swift Current from Memorial Cup

Captain Sam Steel pushed the Pats into the Memorial Cup semifinal.

    REGINA, Sask. – The Regina Pats needed every bit of Sam Steel’s heroics as “the Man of Steel.”

    The Pats captain had five assists to help his team outlast a determined Swift Current Broncos side 6-5 in the final round robin game for both clubs at the Memorial Cup championship tournament on Wednesday night at the Brandt Centre.

    Steel’s effort almost wasn’t enough as Broncos captain Glenn Gawdin and Finnish import left-winger Aleksi Heponiemi pulled a Batman and Robin act to give the WHL champions every shot to pull out a victory before a sellout crowd of 6,484 spectators. 

    Gawdin had two goals and an assist, while Heponiemi had a goal and three assists.

Glenn Gawdin had two goals and an assist for the Broncos.

    With the win, the Pats conclude the round robin portion of the tournament with a 2-1 record and advance to play the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs (2-1) in a semifinal playoff game on Friday at 8 p.m. at the Brandt Centre.

    The QMJHL champion Acadie Bathurst Titan (2-1) qualified for the championship contest of the Memorial Cup thanks to the result of Wednesday’s round robin game. While the Pats, Bulldogs and Titan all had identical round robin records, the Titan finished first and the Bulldogs second thanks to a tiebreaking rule that used a mathematical formula involving the goals for and goals against between the three clubs in their head-to-head games.

    The Broncos finished 0-3 in the round robin portion of the Memorial Cup and were eliminated from making the playoff round of the CHL championship tournament.

Aleksi Heponiemi had a goal and three assists for the Broncos.

    Swift Current lost all three of its games at the Memorial Cup by a one-goal margin. The Broncos had finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 48-17-5-2 mark.

    “They (the Broncos) are just a really good team,” said Steel. “They have a lot of heart to fight back.

    “We saw that tonight. We played a good game, got up and we knew they were going to have a push. It was good.”

    Steel helped the Pats go ahead 1-0 at the 7:36 mark of the first period, while working on the power play. The Sherwood Park, Alta., product found linemate Nick Henry with a backdoor pass in the left slot, and Henry fired home his first of three goals on the night.

    The Pats extended their lead to 2-0 at the 10:29 mark of the third working on another power play.

Left-winger Nick Henry had a hat trick for the Pats.

    Steel passed the puck from the right boards to linemate Cameron Hebig at the left post of the Swift Current goal, and Hebig redirected the puck into the net to give Regina a two-goal edge.

    At that point, the goals came at a rapid pace. Gawdin netted his first of the night at the 11:46 mark of the second to cut the Pats lead to 2-1. Steel set up Henry for his second goal of the contest at the 16:09 mark of the second, while Regina was short-handed to make the score 3-1 in the Pats favour.
    Just 23 seconds after Henry’s short-handed marker, Beck Malenstyn scored a power-play goal for Swift Current to cut Regina’s edge to 3-2.

Broncos D Artyom Minulin turns the corner on Pats RW Cameron Hebig.

    The Pats extended their lead to 4-2, when Steel found Henry with a crazy pass across the face of the Broncos goal. Henry fired his third tally of the night into the open left side of the net.

    “I just had a couple of good passes and guys were putting it in,” said Steel. “They were finding the right spots.

    “It is good to chip in. We got the win, and that is the most important thing. I’m just focused on getting a championship here.”

    The Pats appeared to seal the game away, when left-winger Bryce Platt scored at the 10:43 mark of the third period to put Regina up 5-2.

Libor Hajek scored the winning goal for the Pats.

    The Broncos fought back again. Heponiemi scored at the 14:22 mark of third, and Giorgio Estephan flipped a close in shot over Pats netminder Max Paddock at the 17:11 mark of the third to cut the Regina lead to 5-4. Estephan scored his goal after the Broncos pulled netminder Stuart Skinner for an extra attacker.

    With 2:12 to play in the third, the Broncos were penalized for too many men during a mix up, when they tried to pull Skinner again for an extra attacker. The extra attacker jumped on to the ice, while Skinner froze on his way to the Swift Current bench.

    On the ensuing power play, Steel got the puck to Czech import defenceman Libor Hajek. Hajek skated low slot to the left side of the Swift Current goal and put a shot past Skinner to give the Pats a 6-4 lead with 1:37 to play.

    Just as the Pats faithful were heavy in their celebrations, Gawdin potted his second of the contest with 49.5 seconds to play in the third to cut the Pats edge to 6-5. Gawdin’s goal came with the Broncos working on the power play.
    At that point, the sizable contingent of Broncos fans in attendance roared louder than they had at any point in the game.

The Pats celebrate Libor Hajek’s winning goal.

    In the final seconds, the Pats had a couple of big shot blocks, which helped preserve victory.

Paddock made 26 stops to pick up the win in goal for the Pats. Skinner turned away 22 shots to take the setback in goal for the Broncos.

    Way back on April 2, the Broncos knocked the Pats out of the WHL playoffs taking Game 7 of a first round series 3-2 at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current. Steel said the Pats expected a big battle.

    “We knew what was on the line,” said Steel. “We knew these guys knocked us out.

    “We knew they were a really good team. We came out hungry.”

    Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock was pleased with Steel’s product on Wednesday, and the veteran bench boss said he was impressed with how Steel ensures he always ready to play.

    “He does everything he possibly can to prepare himself to play a game in practice,” said Paddock. “I think it relates a lot to his upbringing.

The fans at the Brandt Centre salute the Pats after their win.

    “He is extremely skilled. You just never have to worry about him. That is a really good compliment for a player when you don’t have to worry about him being ready to play.”

    Now the Pats look forward to playing the Bulldogs. Regina beat Hamilton 3-2 in the round robin clash between the two sides to open the Memorial Cup back on May 18. Henry scored the winning goal in that contest with 32.6 seconds to play in the third period.

    “We heard they weren’t too happy with their play,” said Steel, who leads all players in scoring at the Memorial Cup with one goal and 10 assists. “We expect a better performance out of them.

    “We have to be prepared for it and just come out and lay it all on the line.”

Stanley Cup pays a visit, other notes

Broncos supporters are picture with the Stanley Cup and Memorial Cup.

    Two of hockey’s biggest trophies were the centre of attention at Fanfest on Wednesday.

    The Stanley Cup made a visit to the Memorial Cup tournament, and fans could have their pictures taken with it and the Memorial Cup at the same time. It was a rare opportunity to see the biggest prize in professional hockey and major junior hockey at the same time.

    There was a pretty healthy lineup of fans willing to see both trophies in the 75 minutes leading up to Wednesday’s contest. With the final round robin clash featuring the two Saskatchewan entries at the Memorial Cup, fans wearing apparel of the WHL champion Swift Current Broncos and the host Regina Pats dominated the lineup of people waiting to have their pictures taken with the two iconic trophies.

• During the press conference following Swift Current’s elimination from the tournament on Wednesday, Broncos head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viveiros said the club’s star right-winger Tyler Steenbergen suffered a concussion in the team’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan last Saturday. Steenbergen missed the Broncos last two round robin games. Viveiros said Broncos captain Glenn Gawdin has been playing with a separated shoulder since the third round of the WHL post-season and Russian import defenceman Artyom Minulin is going to have shoulder surgery in the off-season.
• Including play in the regular season, WHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament, the Broncos took the ice for 101 games in 2017-18.
• The round robin portion of the Memorial Cup was extremely competitive as five of the six games were decided by a one-goal margin. The one contest that wasn’t decided by a one-goal margin came last Sunday, when the Acadie-Bathurst Titan downed the Pats 8-6 with the aid of an empty-net goal.
• Bulldogs 19-year-old netminder Kaden Fulcher tops all goalies at the Memorial Cup with the lowest goals against average at 2.01 and the highest save percentage at .931. Fulcher is the only starting puck stopper to have a goals against average that is under three goals allowed per game.
• The annual Memorial Cup tournament brings together people from all over the hockey world. On Monday, I got to visit veteran junior hockey broadcaster Peter Loubardias, Swift Current Broncos athletic trainer Jamie LeBlanc, Regina Pats athletic trainer Greg Mayer and Prince Albert Raiders athletic trainer Duane Bartley at the same time. All four are great people, and you felt like you were hanging out with the cool kids when you are around them.

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

-------

    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.

Skinner nearly works a miracle for Broncos, Bulldogs prevail 2-1

Broncos G Stuart Skinner stones Bulldogs RW Isaac Nurse.

    REGINA, Sask. – Stuart Skinner gave his Swift Current Broncos every chance to win a game they were terribly outplayed in.

    The 19-year-old star netminder made 54 saves in Monday’s Memorial Cup round robin game against the Hamilton Bulldogs, but the Bulldogs just skated away with a 2-1 victory before an announced crowd of 5,820 spectators at the Brandt Centre.

    With the two clubs locked in 1-1 tie, the Bulldogs entered the Swift Current offensive zone on a well-executed rush late in the third period.
    Centre Brandon Saigeon passed the puck up to defenceman Benjamin Gleason.

MacKenzie Entwistle gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead in the first.

    Gleason found left-winger Marian Studenic with a backdoor pass across the front of the Swift Current net.

    Studenic corralled the puck at the right side of the Swift Current cage and fired a shot over top of a sprawled out Skinner with 2:01 to play in the third to give the Bulldogs a one-goal victory.
    Hamilton netminder Kaden Fulcher turned away 21 shots to pick up the win in goal for the OHL champs.

    “I felt good,” said Skinner. “I felt ready the whole time.

    “I know I want to win this thing really badly, and I know my team does too. We can make lots of excuses I’m sure. I think we just need to make sure that we come out harder to play.

    “When we show up, I believe that no team can beat us. If we show up the way that I know how we can, I think we will be just fine.”

Colby Sissons fired home a second period power-play goal for the Broncos.

    Hamilton went ahead 1-0 scoring on the power play at the 5:49 mark of the first period, when right-winger MacKenzie Entwistle fired home the rebound from a shot taken by linemate Ryan Moore.

    From that point, the Skinner made a number of huge stops for the rest of the frame, as the Bulldogs held a 22-4 edge in shots on goal.

    Early in the second period, Skinner made a huge glove stop to rob Bulldogs right-winger Isaac Nurse on a breakaway.

    The Broncos started to make a push back, and they had their first big scoring chance at the 7:47 mark of the second period, when right-winger Beck Malenstyn tried to poke a puck past Fulcher directly in front of the Hamilton net.

    Malenstyn was tackled to the ice by Bulldogs defenceman Nicolas Mattinen causing a scrum to ensure.

Broncos defenceman Sahvan Khaira wins a battle for the puck.

    The Broncos came away with a power-play chance, and they cashed in on that opportunity, when offensive defenceman Colby Sissons drove home a point shot to force a 1-1 tie.

    After that, Skinner kept filling up a highlight reel of big saves until Studenic scored late in the third.
    Shortly after Studenic’s goal, Skinner robbed Bulldogs star centre Robert Thomas with a glove stop on a breakaway chance.

    He received a big salute at the end of the game, when he came to pick up his award as the first star of the contest.

    “They came out, and they played hard,” said Skinner. “They played the right way.

    “They wanted it a lot more than we wanted it tonight.”

    The win allowed the Bulldogs to improve to 1-1 in the round robin standings.

Marian Studenic (#28) celebrates his game-winning goal.

    They face the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan (2-0) on Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the Brandt Centre in the final round robin game for both of those clubs.

    The WHL champion Broncos fell to 0-2, and they need to win their final round robin game against the host Regina Pats (1-1) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Brandt Centre to stay alive in the tournament.

    That clash will be the final round robin game for both the Broncos and Pats.

    The Broncos hit the ice on Monday without star right-winger Tyler Steenbergen, and Broncos head coach and director of player personnel Manny Viveiros said Steenbergen is a game-time decision on Wednesday.

    Broncos defenceman Josh Anderson said it would have helped his side, if Steenbergen was able to go.

    “He is a great player for us,” said Anderson. “He plays a big role.

    “When a key guy goes out, you definitely miss him out there.”

Stuart Skinner salutes the Brandt Centre crowd after Monday’s game.

    Anderson said it was tough for his team to be in a spot, where they are trying to avoid elimination in the tournament.

    “Obviously, it is not a situation we want to be in,” said Anderson. “We’ve had a couple of Game 7s in the (WHL) post-season.

    “We know how to handle certain things, but it was never facing elimination in the Memorial Cup. It is something new for everyone.”
    Skinner believes his squad will come out with a big effort in Wednesday’s clash with the Pats.

    The Broncos eliminated the Pats in a tough seven-game series in the first round of the WHL playoffs.

    “It is going to be a really good game I think,” said Skinner. “Obviously, we know them well. They know us well.

    “Obviously, we got them eliminated in (WHL) playoffs, so they are going to be coming out hard. If we don’t match that or go higher than that, we could be in trouble. I know the guys will come out (hard).”

Ridley nears 3,900^th call, 4,000 a possibility

Bob Ridley, right, calls a game at the 2007 Memorial Cup with Barry Prins.

   At the Memorial Cup, the question comes up.

    Someone always asks me, “How is Bob Ridley doing?”

    The question comes from the fact I spent 10 seasons from 2004 to 2014 covering the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers as a beat writer for the Medicine Hat News.

    Ridley, who is the iconic play-by-play voice of the Tigers, is not at the 100^th Memorial Cup as the Tigers weren’t able to have one of the special seasons to qualify for major junior hockey’s prestige event. With that said, he is always on the minds of the people who have been involved with the major junior ranks at any level.

    Ridley’s mark for games called as the play-by-play voice of one hockey team is pretty much untouchable, and he is approaching even more astonishing grounds.

    After the Tigers were eliminated with a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 6 of a first round playoff series with the Brandon Wheat Kings on April 1, Ridley has called 3,861 of the 3,862 contests the Tigers have played in the regular season, standings tiebreakers, WHL playoffs and the Memorial Cup tournament.

    That total includes 3,435 of the Tigers 3,436 regular season games, the one standings tiebreaker game the club appeared in, all of the Tigers 405 games in the WHL playoffs and all 20 of their contests in the Memorial Cup tournament. The Tigers have appeared in the Memorial Cup in 1973, 1987, 1988, 2004 and 2007 and won the event in 1987 and 1988.

Bob Ridley gets set to drive the Tigers bus in the 2012 WHL playoffs.

    Going into the upcoming WHL regular season, Ridley needs to call 39 more games to reach his 3,900^th call. Over the next two seasons, Ridley could possibly call his 4,000^th game, if he calls all of the Tigers regular season games over that period of time and the team reaches the post-season once during that span. He has been the Tigers only play-by-play voice in their 48 campaigns of existence.

    Next season, the WHL regular season schedule is shrinking from 72 games to 68 games. If the schedule had remained at 72 games, a Tigers playoff appearance wouldn’t have been necessary for Ridley to reach 4,000 games called.

    As it stands already, someone could call 80 games on average between the regular season and playoffs each season for 48 seasons and still fall short of Ridley’s current total of 3,861 games called.

    Of course, Ridley drove the Tigers team bus for most of that stretch.

    Way back in August of 2006, I interviewed Ridley, who was 62-years-old at the time, and he gave a sweet quote about how long he planned to keep going.

    “One of these days I am going to have to retire,” said Ridley. “You can’t do it forever.

    “But, it has been a great ride. I hope to stay on as long as I can.”

    Ridley will be 74-years-old during the next WHL season, and he will always be “the Dean” of major junior hockey broadcasters. One day, there should be a place for him in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

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

-------

    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.

Broncos drop OT heartbreaker at Memorial Cup

Titan might take up villain status at CHL tourney

Giorgio Estephan had a pair of goals on Saturday.

    Swift Current Broncos will have another chance to show off their perseverance after suffering a deflating loss to open play at the Memorial Cup tournament.

    The WHL champions opened the CHL title tournament on Saturday watching leads of 2-1 and 3-2 disappear due to short-handed goals from the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan. The two clubs went to overtime locked in a 3-3 draw.

    At the 2:58 mark of the extra session, Titan defenceman Noah Dobson deflected a centring pass from behind the icing line of the Swift Current zone off a Broncos defender to Acadie-Bathurst left-winger Liam Murphy in front of the Swift Current goal. Murphy directed the puck around the right pad of Broncos star netminder Stuart Skinner into the goal to give the Titan a 4-3 victory before an announced crowd of 6,237 spectators at the 6,484 seat Brandt Centre in Regina.

    While the Titan are known for scoring short-handed goals, it is almost unheard of for the Broncos to give up two short-handed tallies in one game. That ultimately turned out to be the difference that allowed Acadie-Bathurst to pull out victory.

    The Titan scored first on Saturday, when centre Samuel Asselin deflected home a point shot from defenceman Olivier Galipeau at the 8:02 mark of the first period.

    The Broncos stormed back before the opening frame ended. With 7:42 remaining in the first, Broncos star right-winger Tyler Steenbergen deflected home a backhand shot during a net scramble working on a power play to tie things up at 1-1. With 61 seconds to play in the first, Broncos centre Giorgio Estephan took a cross-ice feed from offensive defenceman Colby Sissons and buried a shot to give Swift Current a 2-1 edge.

    Early in the second period, Titan captain Jeffrey Truchon-Viel hit Steenbergen from the side and sent the Sylvan Lake, Alta., product flying awkwardly into the boards.

Colby Sissons had a key assist for the Broncos.

    Steenbergen was assisted off the ice by Broncos athletic trainer Jamie LeBlanc and did not return to the contest.

    Max Patterson finished the game playing on the Broncos top line with captain Glenn Gawdin at centre and Finnish import Aleksi Heponiemi at left wing.

    Still, the Broncos seemed to be control and were working on a power play late in the frame. With 1:53 remaining in the second, Truchon-Viel chipped the puck out of his own zone up the boards to spring Asselin on a short-handed breakaway. Asselin tucked home a shot between Skinners legs to tie things up at 2-2.

    Swift Current quickly answered back at even strength. Working down low in front of the Acadie-Bathurst goal, Estephan backhanded home the rebound of his own shot to give the Broncos a 3-2 lead with 48.5 seconds to play in the second. He had an assist on the Broncos first goal for a three-point night.

    If there were any thoughts that Estephan’s second goal might hold up as the winner, those thoughts changed at the 5:51 mark of the third with the Broncos working another power play. An errant Swift Current pass sprung the Titan on the rare three-on-one short-handed break.

    Titan defenceman Adam Holwell drove hard to the net and knocked home the rebound of a shot from Acadie-Bathurst centre German Rubtsov to force a 3-3 tie. That set the stage for Murphy’s overtime winner.

    Skinner turned away 35 shots to take the setback in goal for the Broncos. Evan Fitzpatrick stopped 24 shots to pick up the win in goal for the Titan.

    The Broncos had some missed opportunities where they could have taken better control of the contest. Leading 2-1 early in the second, Steenbergen fired a shot off the crossbar before leaving the contest due to injury.

    Shortly after the start of the third with the Broncos holding a 3-2 edge, Gawdin had a breakaway, and he was turned away on his first shot and on a rebound chance by Fitzpatrick.

Tyler Steenbergen left Saturday’s game after being injured on a hit.

    The Titan played with good speed and skill and also brought a real pest type edge to their game trying to get under the collective skins of the Broncos players. It was the type of edge that would be loved by those that are fans of the Titan and would be hated by those that were fans of the Titan’s opponents.

    Asselin, a 19-year-old who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 181 pounds, resembled former NHL great Theo Fleury, who was also a former star of the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, during Saturday’s game. Fleury was well-known for putting up points and stirring up tensions on the ice.

    Due to the fact the Memorial Cup is a neutral tournament, it is unlikely the host Regina Pats will be able to bring back Senator Denise Batters to play “Pop Goes the Weasel,” when Asselin takes the ice to play the Regina squad. In the late 1980s, Batters was a Pats organist and played that very tune when Fleury would step on the Brandt Centre ice surface as a member of the Warriors.

    The round robin portion of the Memorial Cup continues on Sunday, when the Titan battle the Pats at 5 p.m. at the Brandt Centre in a clash of 1-0 teams.

Silvertips overagers gave their all to Everett

Matt Fonteyne graduated as a standout leader for the Silvertips.

    When the Everett Silvertips fell in the WHL Championship series, it brought an end of an era for the club.

    On Sunday at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current, the Silvertips fell 3-0 in Game 6 of the WHL title series to the host Broncos before a sellout crowd of 2,890 spectators. The Broncos took the best-of-seven set 4-2.

    The loss brought an end to the major junior careers of Silvertips overagers Matt Fonteyne, Patrick Bajkov and Kevin Davis. All three were drafted by the Silvertips and spent their entire WHL careers in Everett playing there for five complete seasons.

    The trio helped Everett finish third overall in the WHL with a 47-20-2-3 record. They were key players in the Silvertips run to the WHL Championship series for the first time since the club’s inaugural campaign in 2003-04.

    In the process, the Silvertips advanced past the second round of the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

Patrick Bajkov led the Silvertips in regular season scoring this past season.

    Thanks to the work of that trio, the Silvertips still have never missed the playoffs during the franchise’s 15 seasons of existence.

    Fonteyne, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 170 pounds, was selected in the third round and 66^th overall by the Silvertips in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft. The strong two-way centre was the team’s captain this past season, where he appeared in all 72 regular season games netting 35 goals, 53 assists and a plus-27 rating in the plus-minus department. During his career with the Silvertips, Fonteyne, who is from Wetaskiwin, Alta., appeared in 340 regular season games piling up 82 goals, 127 assists and a plus-42 rating.

    Bajkov, who stands 6-feet and weighs 185 pounds, was selected in the sixth round and 128^th overall in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft, and the skilled right-winger was the Silvertips leading scorer this past season appearing in all of the team’s 72 regular season games collecting 33 goals, 67 assists and a plus-19 rating. During his career with the Silvertips, Bajkov, who is from Nanaimo, B.C., appeared in 342 regular season games collecting 112 goals, 176 assists and a plus-44 rating.

Kevin Davis became a standout offensive-defenceman with the Silvertips.

    Davis, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 185 pounds, was selected in the first round and 11^th overall in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft, and he developed into a sound offensive-defenceman. He led all Silvertips defencemen in scoring this past season appearing in 71 regular season games piling up 10 goals, 55 assists and a plus-29 rating. During his career with the Silvertips, Davis, who is from Kamloops, B.C., appeared in 347 regular season games collecting 26 goals, 148 assists and a plus-42 rating.

    Being based in an area covering teams in the WHL’s Eastern Conference, I don’t get to deal with clubs from the Western Conference often, where the Silvertips play out of. During the course of the WHL Championship series, I was pretty impressed with how the Silvertips overagers carried themselves, and you could tell they cared about their team. It makes you wish you could have dealt with them more.

    Here is hoping Fonteyne, Bajkov and Davis all have the best of luck as they move on to the next steps of their lives.

Getting first win key at Memorial Cup, other notes

Jake Leschyshyn and the Pats are sitting pretty at 1-0 at the Memorial Cup.

    So far at the Memorial Cup, the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan and the host Regina Pats are sitting pretty.

    Both teams won their opening games at the 100^th Memorial Cup tournament, which is a big thing with the way the four-team tournament in structured. The four clubs play each other in a round robin, which means each team will play three games at this stage of the event.

    As soon as a team wins a game, the club is guaranteed to play at least a standings tiebreaker contest in the playoff round. For the competing clubs, a win helps remove the anxiety of knowing if you will be playing after Wednesday. When a team gets eliminated from the event, the eliminated squad packs up and immediately departs for home and doesn’t stay to watch the rest of the tourney.

    Due to the fact this event feature three league championship teams and a sound host squad, it is hard for a club to work its way back, if it falls to 0-2. A lot of emotional energy along with physical energy gets burned pulling out of a hole that is 0-2.

    The Titan and Pats are both 1-0 and play each other on Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Brandt Centre. The winner will be guaranteed a berth into Friday’s semifinal game.

    The WHL champion Swift Current Broncos and the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs are both 0-1 and play each other on Monday at 6 p.m. at the Brandt Centre. The winning club in that contest will lock up a berth in at least a tiebreaking game, while the losing club will fall to 0-2 and need to win out to stay alive at the event.

• The 100^th edition of the Memorial Cup has some pretty cool honourary captains in Dennis Sobchuk and Guy Lafleur. Sobchuk was a star centre on the Regina Pats 1974 Memorial Cup championship team,  and he went on to play 348 regular season games in the now defunct WHA and 35 contests in the NHL. Lafleur helped the Quebec Remparts win the Memorial Cup in 1971 and he achieved star status in the NHL playing on five Stanley Cup winning teams with the Montreal Canadiens. Legendary Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster and former Boston Bruins head coach Don Cherry is honourary chairman of the Memorial Cup.
• The Pats are auctioning of the special jerseys they wore for Friday’s opening game of the Memorial Cup. The jerseys paid tribute to the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, which was a privately funded regiment founded at the outbreak of the First World War. The Pats were named after the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. Proceeds from the auction go to support the Dominion Command Poppy Trust Fund. The bids close on May 28 at 9 p.m. eastern time. Those looking to take part in the auction can do so by clicking here.
• It seems like a lot of people are showing up as empty seats during the first two games of the Memorial Cup. Attendance was announced at 5,678 on Friday night and 6,237 on Saturday night at the 6,484 seat facility. It is possible a lot of people no showed as part of corporate ticket packages. There has been a lot of social media and sports talk radio chatter about how ticket prices are too high. Tournament ticket packages were on sale for $700 to $750 for the general public, which was an increased from the $595 at last year’s tournament in Windsor. Ticket packages for next year’s tournament in Halifax are pegged at $320 for season ticket holders, which is the lowest price to attend the Memorial Cup in years. Former Halifax Mooseheads play-by-play voice John Moore trumpeted next year’s Memorial Cup ticket prices in a tweet.

#Mooseheads buck the #MemorialCup trend of rising ticket prices. Average price per game for past 4 years.
Quebec City 2015 $65
Red Deer 2016 $66
Windsor 2017 $74
Regina 2018 $93
Halifax 2019 $40 season ticket holders / $56 general public #CHL #SportsandMoore

— John Moore (@rinkrant) May 17, 2018

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

-------

    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.

Host Pats have a realistic shot to win Memorial Cup

The Pats are hoping to hold a lot of goal celebrations at the Memorial Cup.

    The Regina Pats are looking to be a nightmare for the sports purist.

    Way back on April 2, the Pats were eliminated from the WHL playoffs falling 3-2 in Game 7 of a first round series with the Swift Current Broncos. The Broncos, who finished second overall in the WHL’s regular season standings with a 48-17-5-2 record, advanced to capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup as league champions.

    The Pats went on a lengthy wait for the Memorial Cup championship tournament to start in Regina. As the host club, the Pats would experience life after death.

    On Friday, they play the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs to open the 100^th edition of this legendary as event at 8 p.m. at the Brandt Centre. When the Pats hit the ice, they will have gone a span of 45 days between games.

    Thanks to their lengthy rest period, the Pats are in position to be a migraine headache for every other team in the tourney. For the sports purist, the Pats had the easy route to the four-team tournament, because they didn’t slug it out deep in the WHL post-season.

    Regina isn’t your average team that bows out in the first round of the post-season.

    The Pats finished seventh overall in the WHL with a 40-25-6-1 regular season record playing out of the league’s ultra-competitive East Division. The clubs in the six-team East Division were so strong that the Saskatoon Blades missed the playoffs finishing sixth with a 35-33-3-1 record.

    Only six players remain on the Pats roster from their dynamic team that advanced to the WHL Championship series falling in six games to the Seattle Thunderbirds, but all six players are good ones.

Sam Steel had another stellar season for the Pats.

    Star captain Sam Steel had a sound season piling up 33 goals, 50 assists and a plus-27 rating in the plus-minus department in 54 regular season games. The other returnees include feisty centre Jake Leschyshyn, skilled right-winger Nick Henry and gritty left-winger Robbie Holmes.

    Josh Mahura had another stellar year on the back end leading all Pats defencemen in scoring with 22 goals and 47 assists in 60 regular season games. Liam Schlioler was sound as a defensive defenceman.

    Before the start of the season and throughout the campaign, Pats head coach and general manager John Paddock built a roster that was worthy of hosting major junior hockey’s championship tournament.

    Overage centre Matthew Bradley came to the Pats in an off-season deal with the Medicine Hat Tigers and piled up 37 goals and 42 assists appearing in all the Pats 72 regular season games.

    Overage right-winger Cameron Hebig came the Pats in a blockbuster trade with the Blades hours before the WHL trade deadline on Jan. 10. Hebig had career highs in goals (41), assists (49) and plus-minus (plus-13) appearing in 66 regular season games split between the Blades and Pats.

    On defence, the Pats picked up Cale Fleury in a trade with the Kootenay Ice. Fleury had 12 goals, 39 assists and a plus-17 rating in 68 regular season games split between the Ice and Pats.

    Czech import Libor Hajek was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Blades on Jan. 9 and the standout rearguard 12 goals and 27 assists in 58 regular season games split between the Blades and Pats.

    The Pats are going to start 17-year-old rising star Max Paddock in goal to open the Memorial Cup. In 33 regular season appearances, Paddock posted a 19-7-2 record, a 2.90 goals against average and a .904 save percentage.

Max Paddock will start the Pats first game in goal at the Memorial Cup.

    Regina also has standout coaching under John Paddock, assistant general manager and assistant coach Dave Struch and assistant coach Brad Herauf.

    Last year, sports purists expressed their disappointment when the host Windsor Spitfires won the Memorial Cup after being eliminated in the first round of the OHL playoffs. The Spitfires fell in a seven-game series to the London Knights and became the first club to fall in the first round of a league playoffs and rebound to win the Memorial Cup. Windsor took out the Erie Otters 4-3 in last year’s Memorial Cup title game.

    Regina has the pieces to win the Memorial Cup as the host team.

    The Pats are hoping the history from Windsor a year ago repeats itself, which would make the sports purist feel even more ill.

Beware the beasts from the OHL and QMJHL

The smile says Regina bound 🐶😃

With their six-game #OHLChampionship Series victory @BulldogsOHL have advanced to #MCMemorialCup.

DETAILS: https://t.co/mdM6hGfryc pic.twitter.com/ATsnm8UP8w

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) 15 May 2018

    Saskatchewan hockey fans might want to put the notion of a Memorial Cup championship final between the Swift Current Broncos and host Regina Pats on hold.

    After the Broncos won the WHL championship, a number of hockey fans from Saskatchewan started dreaming about the possibility of the Broncos meeting the Pats in the event’s championship final on May 27 and that was understandable. The last time two Saskatchewan teams participated in the Memorial Cup was back in 1989 in Saskatoon, where the Broncos downed the host Blades 4-3 in overtime in the championship game.

    Now is the time to remind everyone the Memorial Cup hasn’t been kind to representatives from the WHL in recent years. A WHL team has only won it all once in the last nine Memorial Cup tourneys with the Edmonton Oil Kings victory in 2014 in London, Ont.

    At last year’s Memorial Cup, the WHL champion Seattle Thunderbirds went 0-3 and were outscored a combined 18-3 in those contests.

    Until the WHL clubs can reverse the results on the ice, the teams to watch out for in the Memorial Cup have to be the OHL and QMJHL representatives. This year, the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs and the QMJHL champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan are the representatives from Eastern Canada.

    The Bulldogs open the Memorial Cup on Friday taking on the host Pats (8 p.m., Brandt Centre). Hamilton topped the OHL’s Eastern Conference and finished third overall in the circuit’s regular season standings with a 43-18-4-3 record and advanced through the playoffs with a 16-5 record. The Bulldogs took out the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in six games in the OHL’s Championship series.

    Robert Thomas, who is an 18-year-old centre, was acquired by the Bulldogs from the London Knights and piled up 24 goals and 51 assists in 49 regular season games split between both clubs. Defenceman Benjamin Gleason quarterbacked the power play on the back end recording nine goals and 39 assists in 63 regular season games.

    Kaden Fulcher, who is a 19-year-old veteran, is the go to guy in goal for the Bulldogs posting a 32-17-6 record, a 2.86 goals against average, a .899 save percentage and three shutouts in 55 regular season games.

    Acadie-Bathurst opens play at the Memorial Cup on Saturday against the Broncos (2 p.m., Brandt Centre).

    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. The Titan took the QMJHL Championship series in six games with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

    Centre Antoine Morand, who turned 19 in February, topped the Titan in scoring netting 26 goals and 50 assists in 66 regular season games. Defenceman Olivier Galipeau was acquired in a trade by the Titan from the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, and he is a talented offensive rearguard piling up 25 goals and 49 assists in 67 regular season games.

    Evan Fitzpatrick carries the load in goal for the Titan after being acquired in a trade with the Sherbrooke Phoenix posting a 26-12-5 record, a 2.90 goals against average, a .893 save percentage and one shutout in 46 regular season appearances.

    When Red Deer, Alta., hosted the Memorial Cup in 2016, the OHL champion Knights downed the QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 3-2 in overtime in the CHL title game.

    It would be par for the course if the Bulldogs and Titan met in this year’s Memorial Cup championship game on May 27.

NEXT STOP: Regina! #OurTime #NotreTemps pic.twitter.com/knGl1Ns2YQ

— xy - Titan AcadieBathurst (@ABTitan) 13 May 2018

Monday was a great day for Skinner

Stuart Skinner lifts the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

    Swift Current Broncos goaltender Stuart Skinner might grow fond of Mondays.

    On Sunday night, Skinner, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 200 pounds, made 31 save to back the Broncos to a 3-0 win over the Everett Silvertips in Game 6 before a sellout crowd of 2,890 spectators at the Innovation Credit Union i-Plex. The Broncos capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup taking the best-of-seven WHL Championship series 4-2.

    On Monday, Skinner signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers selected Skinner in the third round and 78^th overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

    Skinner was acquired by the Broncos in a trade with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. In 56 regular season games split between the Broncos and Hurricanes, Skinner posted a 30-21-4 record, a 3.07 goals against average, a .905 save percentage and six shutouts.

    In the Broncos run to the WHL title, Skinner posted a 16-10 record, a 2.20 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and six shutouts. Skinner’s six shutouts in one WHL post-season equals a league record set by Dustin Slade, who backstopped the Vancouver Giants to a league crown in 2006.

    On top of the contract, Skinner was named the WHL goaltender of the week on Monday and the CHL goaltender of the week on Tuesday.

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

-------

    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.

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.

-------

    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.