Broncos 5 @ Hitmen 2

[Big Ern]

From Yonks on out, our whole team did some very positive things tonight.

I knew the guys could win this one. I'm just really happy I drove to watch it.

Check back early tomorrow for more thoughts on the game.

Right now I'm just gonna continue with the trip home from Calgary.....I get to sleep most of the way tonight instead of drive, courtesy of MY 96 FM's Kim Johnston who I picked up in Tiger Town on the way. He's a big Swift Current fan....still. Thanks for the help with the drive KJ.

More tomorrow....ring those Bronco office phones at nine o'clock sharp!

LET'S GO SWIFTY!!!

[Scout]

In Calgary, the Hitmen scored the game’s first two goals but ended up losing 5-2 to the Swift Current Broncos. . . . Calgary still leads the series 3-2 with Game 6 in Swift Current on Saturday night. . . . A seventh game, if needed, would be played in Calgary on Monday. . . . The Hitmen got goals from F Ryan White and F Michael Stone before the game was three minutes old and yet trailed 4-2 at the first intermission. . . . D Jesse Dudas got the comeback started, and F Dale Weise, F Keegan Dansereau and F Levi Nelson added goals. . . . Weise later added an empty-net goal. He also had an assist for a three-point night. . . . The Broncos have given up 36 goals in 11 playoff games, 18 of them while shorthanded. . . . Calgary was 1-for-8 on the PP in Game 5; the Broncos were 1-for-4. . . . The Hitmen are expected to give G Martin Jones his first career playoff start after he relieved Dan Spence for the second time in three games in Game 5. Jones came on and stopped all 13 shots he saw in this one and has kicked out 34 straights shots since giving up a goal. . . .

[Big Ern]

I finally squeezed some time in to jot down a few notes during what has been a busy day in Swifty....running around, doing little things, and so on. It's all a follow-up of the 3:40 AM arrival home from Calgary this morning.

-I have been asked a few times today how I felt when it was suddenly 2-0 Hitmen. Was I thinking.."Wow...this is over?" Actually, no I wasn't. I knew our guys had done the comeback thing all year, and could certainly do it again.

-our best players were our best players...that's the bottom line. Dale Weise was dominant, Levi Nelson was great, Dudas played awesome with the broken wrist and all....go on and on. And of course Travis Yonkman was once again the saviour.....on more than four or five occations.

-the Hitmen could not survive the onslaught after Jesse Dudas scored that first goal. They seemed to be running around way too much....they had some gimmy plays on defense, and it cost them. It doesn't help to have Dan Spence back there in goal looking shaky.....he was pulled a second game in this series. Expect Martin Jones to start tonight in Swift Current.

-the Broncos have to clear up some stuff....a few ugly plays happened in the game last night. One very bad penalty, some missed opportunities to clear the zone, and so on. If they can clean all of that up a bit, they'll be fine.

-it felt REALLY good to get the win in Calgary. There was a cheer from all the relatives in the crowd, as the clock ticked down to zero. A lot of Bronco folk in Cow Town, no doubt.

-I'm sure this is old news, but the Broncos' store has been jam-packed all day....the lineup exceeded two rows in the i-Plex lobby this morning. I'm glad I've got my tix already.

-there are a lot of positives to draw from this.....the series now looks different all of a sudden....can the Broncos pull off one at home to force game seven?

-no matter the end result, the Broncos will once again draw maximum revenue out of this series with three games at home....you can't help but think that's awesome for the bottom line.

Should be a great game tonight. Our guys have to stay focused, and good things will happen. We have nothing to lose.

Let's abseloutely ROCK the Plex tonight!

LET'S GO SWIFTY!!!