Prince Albert 1 @ Swift Current 5

[Big Ern]

NICE!!! And what a relief! It feels awesome to finally solve the Raiders. I hope the guys have a big celebration.

Not much of a post-game recap tonight....I'm hitting the hay any minute, as I'm starting work one hour earlier now, and am just feeling the effects tonight. It will not effect game recaps in the future however.

Just a few notes:

-the Broncos took the Raiders a bit lightly again early in the game, but really stepped it up once P.A. got the first goal.

-Dustin Butler did not play like he did in the previous four games versus Swifty. He allowed two weak shorthanded goals in a row tonight. In the previous four meetings, he was phenominal! Not the case in this Tuesday matinee....

-the Raiders did a good job of staying disciplined for the longest time...some calls were missed, but nothing major. It was only when the Broncos started scoring shorthanded goals that the Raiders lost patience and got frustrated.

-I think the Broncos realized that they have to do the simple things, and started shooting the puck a lot more. It paid off in the end.

-as the game went on, beating the Raiders looked like the cakewalk it should look like for a team like Swift Current. Prince Albert has been a thorn in the side to say the least.

-great game by Matt Tassone...he looked dominant at times...he missed on his first break-away, but was not to be outdone by Butler when he got the second break-away.

-I don't like to put this as a final comment, but that was the ****tiest atmosphere in a long time at tonight's game. 1700 in attendance. That's not very impressive. Sad.

LET'S GO SWIFTY!!!


The BIG One!!!

The WHL trade deadline hits in less than 48 hours!! How excited are you to see what will happen??!!!! I sure am!!! Just for the heck of it!

-with all the trade deadline hype, DO NOT overlook the fact that the Broncos tonight matched a season-high three-game winning streak! Again, LET'S GO SWIFTY!!!

Goodnight everyone!

[bawango]

Glad to see that monkey is off of our backs.

[Scout]

Last updated at 12:57 AM on 09/01/08

Trio of shorthanded goals lifts Broncos over Raiders
SOUTHWEST BOOSTER SPORTS
The Southwest Booster


The Swift Current Broncos used a trio of shorthanded goals to extend their winning streak to three games with a 5-1 win over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders on Tuesday night.

The Broncos were led offensively by Zack Smith who scored twice and also got single goals from Geordie Wudrick, Matt Tassone, and Cody Eakin.

With the Broncos leading 3-1 Smith and Eakin scored shorthanded goals only nine seconds apart in the third period to silence any hopes of a Raiders comeback.

Smith’s 17th goal of the season is a new career high for the 19-year-old captain.

Prince Albert replied with a powerplay goal from overage defenseman Ryan White, his first of the season.

Swift Current netminder Travis Yonkman posted his 18th win of the season by turning aside 22 of 23 shots.

Raiders goaltender Dustin Butler made 28 saves on 33 shots to see his record drop to 10-15-2-1 on the season.

Tassone said it was not hard to get up for this game, especially considering that the Broncos had lost all four previous meetings with the Raiders this season.

“We came into the dressing room today knowing that we had lost to them four times and we didn’t have our best games against them. They are a lower division team but somehow in those four games they came out and brought the best of them. But today we played our game like we always can and we came out with the win.”

The 18-year-old forward admitted that scoring three goals while shorthanded was an emotional lift for the Broncos.

“It was big lift, sometimes their powerplay was struggling for a little bit but it seemed like they were taking us for granted on the penalty kill, so we were just forcing them and they were letting up a little bit and we got three goals out of it.”

With only seven minor penalties between the two teams Tassone admitted that it was to the Broncos advantage to play the majority of the game five-on-five.

“We have four good lines with the young guys working out there and doing good. So it is easy for us to roll four lines instead of having to double shifts guys,” said Tassone.

Tassone scored a shorthanded goal in the second period shortly after being stopped by Butler on a previous breakaway.

“I knew I had to score. I can’t miss two breakaways like that on pretty much the exact same play. I saw him cheating over to my side so I thought I would bring it over and open the net up more.”

Despite Thursday’s trade deadline, Tassone believes his team is focused on hockey right now.

“It is there but actually in the dressing room it is actually pretty good. We never heard anything, there are no rumors, and we are just playing good hockey right now. No one is scared or anything like that.”

The win improved the Broncos record to 22-17-0-5 and moved them temporarily into seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings, a single point ahead of the idle Moose Jaw Warriors who have four games in hand.

Prince Albert fell to 14-24-2-1 and remained in tenth spot in the Eastern Conference.

This weekend the Broncos will be looking to make up more ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race with stops in Brandon on Friday and Regina on Saturday.

Next home action for the Broncos is Jan. 16th when they host the Red Deer Rebels at the Credit Union iplex at 7:30 p.m.

[ointhecreek]

Dowling and Eakin looked amazing also! Eakin really surprised me, seeing he hasn't played since November and scores a goal first game back.
On the bad side, a couple vets didn't look to good. A couple times they stood a watched a Raider chop away at Yonkman after he covered the puck and did nothing. It's no wonder teams score a lot in a goal mouth scramble. Have to move those guys. :dead:

[Flathead]

Dowling and Eakin looked amazing also! Eakin really surprised me, seeing he hasn't played since November and scores a goal first game back.
On the bad side, a couple vets didn't look to good. A couple times they stood a watched a Raider chop away at Yonkman after he covered the puck and did nothing. It's no wonder teams score a lot in a goal mouth scramble. Have to move those guys. :dead:
I agree with your post a lot, I commented on Dowling earlier about his play on the weekend and he continued last night. Eakin looked goos last night as well for his first game back.
I was less than happy about the way they let Yonks get hacked on last night as well. If that happened in years past someone like Serdachny or Trojovsky would have dropped them, took a roughing penalty and it wouldn't have happened the rest of the game. You don't have to drop them, but get them outta there, get in their face and let them know that's not allowed.

[stick boy]

I have been really impressed with Dowling, he seems very comfortable on the ice now and is taking his time and creating a lot of offense.