Broncos Mount Comeback And Beat Rebels

The Broncos rallied back from a 2-0 third period deficit and surfaced with a 3-2 shootout victory in Red Deer tonight.

The road team was out-shot 24-15 through two periods and was definitely a step behind. The Broncos may have been feeling the effects of another five-day stretch without a game. They've endured a lot of that this season due to unusual scheduling. Whatever the cause, they were slower than the Rebels for 40 minutes and Red Deer capitalized twice with goals from Landon Ferraro and Andrej Kudrna. Broncos G Mark Friesen made some very key saves to prevent the game from getting out of reach. His performance included an impossible save on the aforementioned Kudrna, whom he stymied on a 2 on 1 rush in the first period by sliding across the crease and committing robbery.

Swift Current then picked it up and completely dictated the flow in the third stanza. Their very first power play chance came early in the third. For a minute or so the Rebels' kill looked solid. But Cody Eakin defied that and blasted his 29th goal of the season past Rebels G Darcy Kuemper at 2:18 to cut the lead in half. Just over a minute later, captain Derek Claffey screamed up the left wing and hammered another one by Kuemper to knot things at 2-2. The pace was quick from there and the scoring chances were many, but Swift Current never managed to net a go-ahead marker. The third period shots were 15-3 in favour of the Broncos. 

In the shootout, the Rebels made an interesting move and put Kraymer Barnstable between the pipes in Darcy Kuemper's stead. Apparently they were trying to recapture Barnstable's magic from a previous shootout victory. The move became irrelevant as the Broncos rallied one more time. With his team trailing 1-0, Brad Hoban went in as the third shooter and scored a clutch goal to extend the circus. Mark Friesen then made his third save in four shots to keep it tied, and that sent Justin Dowling in with a chance to win, which he did.

It was a huge win for the Broncos, who were trailing the Rebels by three points entering the game. They'll conclude their two-game central Alberta road trip in Edmonton tomorrow night.

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I'm going to get ready for tomorrow morning's Legionnaire bus trip to Tisdale. Have a good night and enjoy your weekend!