Report FROM EDMONTON...

[Big Ern]

Kalvin Sagert scored a goal and added an assist to help the Prince George Cougars edge the Broncos 4-3 in exhibition action tonight in St. Albert, Alberta.

The Broncos looked great in period one, getting a beautiful goal from Geordie Wudrick, and playing a solid overall game.

However, they ran into some penalty problems in the second period. The Cougars went three for five on the man advantage, overtaking the game. The shots were still heavily in favor of Swift Current, but it's the score clock that counts.

The rally in the third period fell one goal short. Ryan Molle scored on a big slapper from the point. At the 20 minute mark, to end the game, Justin Dowling tucked in a beautiful pass from Phil Gervais at the side of the goal. Unfortunately, it was a bit too late. The Cougars prevailed.

Opinion? Cougars 17-yr-old goaltender, Joel Danyluck, in his half of the game, looked awesome. He made 31 saves, and they included some real quality chances. The Broncos set up beautifully a few times, only to have him slide over and stop them dead. The final shots on goal were 34-13 in favor of Swift Current. There were noticeably some butterflies on each side, as is to be expected in game one. That being said, it's only exhibition, and no one should worry about the results too much.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. The Broncos are playing the Kelowna Rockets at 11:00 AM. I'm just really pumped. It's great to watch hockey again!

Keep it locked on www.whlfans.ca for updates from Edmonton.

Peace.

LET'S GO SWIFTY!!!

[Johnsy05]

Kalvin Sagert scored a goal and added an assist to help the Prince George Cougars edge the Broncos 4-3 in exhibition action tonight in St. Albert, Alberta.

The Broncos looked great in period one, getting a beautiful goal from Geordie Wudrick, and playing a solid overall game.

However, they ran into some penalty problems in the second period. The Cougars went three for five on the man advantage, overtaking the game. The shots were still heavily in favor of Swift Current, but it's the score clock that counts.

The rally in the third period fell one goal short. Ryan Molle scored on a big slapper from the point. At the 20 minute mark, to end the game, Justin Dowling tucked in a beautiful pass from Phil Gervais at the side of the goal. Unfortunately, it was a bit too late. The Cougars prevailed.

Opinion? Cougars 17-yr-old goaltender, Joel Danyluck looked awesome. He made 31 saves, and they included some real quality chances. The Broncos set up beautifully a few times, only to have him slide over and stop them dead. The final shots on goal were 34-13 in favor of Swift Current. There were noticeably some butterflies on each side, as is to be expected in game one. That being said, it's only exhibition, and no one should worry about the results too much.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. The Broncos are playing the Kelowna Rockets at 11:00 AM. I'm just really pumped. It's great to watch hockey again!

Keep it locked on www.whlfans.ca for updates from Edmonton.

Peace.

LET'S GO SWIFTY!!!

Who was in net there ern? Any fights? is there even fighting allowed in pre-season?

[MidgetAAA]

Tassone fought after he was hit from behind...good tilly id give the edge to tassone

[Big Ern]

Who was in net there ern? Any fights? is there even fighting allowed in pre-season?


I guess I left some stuff out in my report. Sorry. HAHA.

There were a few GREAT tilts, as a matter of fact! Matt Tassone and Brady Leavold each had a scrap behind the Broncos' goal. They did much the same thing...jump on their opponent and knock the sh*t out of him. LOL Zack Smith scrapped as well.

Who was in goal for Swift? Ian Curtis was in the net for one goal, and then at the halfway point, Chad Ketting took over .

LET'S GO SWIFTY!!!

[Big Ern]

Paul Postma scored a goal and added an assist to help Swift Current down Kelowna 6-1 today in dominating fashion at Servus Credit Union Place in St. Albert. The Broncos got all six goals from different players, and controlled the flow of the game completely. Other goal scorers were: R.J. LaRochelle, Christian Magnus, Geordie Wudrick, Brady Leavold, and Grant Toulmin. The goaltending duties were shared by Travis Yonkman and Chad Ketting, who both looked stellar in goal. Final shots on goal were 32-26 in favor of the Broncos. A group of veterans were scratched from tonight's game, to give the rookies a chance in exhibition play. Seated players included David Steiler, Kyle Bortis, Ryan Molle, Zack Smith, and Eric Doyle. The team on the ice looked exceptional. Signs of brilliance were shown by first rounder, Christian Magnus. He scored a goal and an assist, and is doing a lot of things right out there...a great sign. Overall, the Broncos looked confident. Safe to say our entire team performed great tonight.

A win can be celebrated, but unfortunately some things happen in this game that hinder the celebration. With two minutes to go in the game, Rockets' centreman, Dylan Hood, got hit and landed awkwardly on the boards. There was a 10-minute delay in the action, as the trainers rushed onto the ice to his aid. The situation didn't look good. He never moved throughout the delay, and was rolled off the ice on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance. I heard later from Broncos' assistant coach Tim Kehler, that Hood was walking again, and doing OK. Fortunately, he'll be fine.

That's it for today. Keep it locked on www.whlfans.ca for more updates from Edmonton.

LET'S GO SWIFTY!!!

[Triton]

Didn't SC play Kelowna?

[Big Ern]

Didn't SC play Kelowna?

HAHA. Yes, they did play the Rockets. Sorry, my mistake. I edited the post.

[Scout]

Thanks for the updates Big Ern and being our eyes at the tourny. Much appreciated.

Scout

[bronco rep]

Yeah thanks Ern for all the updates. I have not heard you talk about Dowling & Eakin, how have they looked. What about the goaltending who has looked sharp. :clap:

[Big Ern]

Yeah thanks Ern for all the updates. I have not heard you talk about Dowling & Eakin, how have they looked. What about the goaltending who has looked sharp. :clap:

In truth, I talked to another group of fans yesterday about those two players. Dowling shows promise, and is dangerous around the net. Codey Eakin is consistently amazing onlookers, as he puts on a great show, and some of his maneuvers are unbelievable......great hockey player.

Goaltending? In game one, 16-yr-old Chad Ketting looked a bit shaky when he took over for Ian Curtis. But he looked GREAT in yesterday's game. Yonkman and Curtis are really looking sharp. I talked to Broncos' goalie coach, Dave Swanson, and he seems very confident about his group going in. I think we'll have a great duo this season.

It's off to Ikea this morning to shop for a bit. The game in the afternoon is at 3:00 PM, and then I get to drive ALL THE WAY HOME. :S I CAN'T WAIT for the game though!

LET'S GO SWIFTY!!!

[CrazyGeorge]

Will there possibly be any moves after the Edmonton tournament? I guess only time will tell.

With two young goalie (Curtis and Kettley) still in camp, one will be the backup to Yonkman and the other reassigned OR would there be any possibilities of trading one of the young tenders? We would probably get the most out of a trade if we moved Curtis but having depth at this position is definetly not a bad thing. There is usually one or two transactions done before the start of the regular season and I'm wondering IF there is going to be a move would it be possible that one of the goalies, 1 or 2 of the 19 year olds or even a Euro get moved? Just wondering what you guys think.

[SuckItUp]

I would think one or two 19 yr olds and 1 20 yr old to be moved. I doubt Curtis or a Euro will be involved. One thing we have to remember Dean will not make a trade just for the sake of making a trade. If he doesnt think we will a better product on the ice after the trade, he will NOT make that trade. As for Goalies I think he wants two solid guys. So I cant see curtis going anywhere. As for our Euros I dont see any team having huge intrest in them. I am not saying they are bad players because they are not its just that they are not high profile enough to get anything more than late round picks for them.

[Big Ern]

I will try reporting on this game in a different way...period by period, as I have to leave IMMEDIATELY after the game for the eight-hour trip home, and have discovered high speed wireless internet in this amazing facility. I will likely post a complete tournament review when I get home tonight, or even tomorrow.

PERIOD 1:

Phil Gervais tucked a puck in at the side of the goal...a beautiful pass from Joel Rogers. Gervais looks impressive, and has throughout the tourney.... The shot clock is tied at seven shots each. With Yonkman in goal, the Broncos look to hand the Blazers their first loss of the tourney... Zero for two on the PP. 1-0 Swift Current after one.

[Big Ern]

A big fight broke out at the end of this period, as Matt Tassone scrapped. It was great, and Tassone definetly got the best of him. Tassone is rather rambuncious out there...it's awesome. He gets under guys' skin. Grant Toulmin also had a big fight....he fought Ryan Bender. Give Bender the edge, but credit Toulmin for dropping the mitts, as he seldom gets into fights. Christian Magnus scored from Foucault and Rogers. Rogers had his second point of the game...looks great, as does Magnus. Shots are 18-13 in favor of the Broncos. They are going after the Blazers with gusto, and beating them to pucks, causing them to take penalties. 2-0 Swift Current after two periods.

NOTES:

-the Broncos had five PPs..the Blazers had one in this period, and feisty Kamloops GM/Coach Dean Clark was giving the gears to the ref all period long....I love to watch it...it's awesome. Especially if the attacker is Willie Desjardins, Kelly McCrimmon, Curtis Hunt, or Brent Sutter. HAHA.

-former Bronco, Andrew Milne, is an assistant behind the Blazers' bench. He is showing emotion, and it really seems like he knows what he's talking about. What is Swift Current anyway...a hockey factory?? :)

-Joel Rogers, the BC born defenseman, looks very comfortable at this level. He is doing a lot of things right.

-Ian Curtis took over in goal for Travis Yonkman after 30 minutes of play.

-tonight's scratches: R.J. LaRochelle, David Steiler, Michael Wilson, Chad Ketting, Jan Dalecky, Paul Postma, Dale Weise, (injured...not on the trip) and Levi Nelson. (injured)

LET'S GO SWIFTY!!!

[Big Ern]

It's a 3-1 final from St. Albert!! Derek Claffey added a goal on a slapper from the point to put the game away with two minutes to go. The Blazers managed to score one goal...but nothing more. Final shots: 26-23 Swift Current.

And now for the drive home. It's gonna be a long one, but it's safe to say the weekend I had here was worth every minute of the drive!

More tomorrow.

LET'S GO SWIFTY!!!

[bronco rep]

Big Ern thanks for all the updates. Look forward to reading your post tournament comments tomorrow. Have a safe trip home.

[CrazyGeorge]

I do as well appreciate the updates. Thanks again Big Ern!!

[Big Ern]

You're all welcome. I enjoyed every second of it.

I finally made it home. I took the Yellowhead #16 to the Battlefords, and came home that way. I would say it's a better choice than the "scenic route" I took two nights ago. It's faster. Otherwise, there was really nothing interesting on the ride home, except for a grass fire burning just North of the city, which I immediately reported to the local fire department. I met the fire crews just as I was entering the city. Good job guys.


Now, for the post trip comments:

In game one, the Broncos at times looked out of sync. It could easily have been the eight hour bus trip that caused the problem. The goaltending looked kind of shaky. (Ketting) There were butterflies, as is to be expected in game one. Also, the game lacked intensity. Both sides were kind of out to lunch, but it was after all, game one..as stated before.

Game two was different. It was completely DOMINATED by Swift Current, with a 6-1 final. Every pass seemed to land on the Broncos' sticks and there were continuous quality shots on goal. We were beginning to see the experience, and the effort.... Also, goaltending was great.

Game three was very entertaining. There were a few tilts, and overall, the team played amazing. They were relentless in their pirsuit of the puck, and it payed off in the end. With a 3-1 Swift Current final, the Broncos handed Kamloops their first loss of the tourney. Everything went very well, and we saw three periods of hard hitting action.

Overall, the tourney was a great experience. There is an abundance of reasons to get excited about this year's edition of the Swift Current Broncos. It's clear that it's a new beginning, and guys are really flying out there. And don't forget, we were missing our two offensive leaders throughout the weekend with injuries...Levi Nelson, and Dale Weise. When those two are back, and the wheels are ready to start rolling, I pity anything that gets in the way. I suggest everyone get their season tickets NOW if you haven't yet.

There is one negative thing to mention in this tourney. No one should complain about officiating at this stage in the season. But with complaints already coming from across the league after three games, (and from WINNING teams) I felt the urge to say something as well. There are 12 NEW REFEREES in the league this season. I hate to say this, but after watching the tournament, the officiating situation looks dire to me. Hopefully it surprises us all this season with amazing consistency.....

I'm off to bed.

LET'S GO SWIFTY!!!

[Broncs in RD]

Thanks for the update Big ern. Sorry I couldn't see you there I came down with a 5 day flu/cold. Hope you had fun.