Weekend Wrap

  What a difference good goaltending makes. Two impressive outings by G Morgan Clark were largely the cause of a 2-0 weekend for the Swift Current Broncos. 

  Friday in Prince Albert Clark made 33 saves to backstop his team to a 2-1 OT win over the Raiders. He followed it up last night with a stellar 37-save shutout versus the Red Deer Rebels. He faced most of the pressure early on. The Rebels had jump in the first period and out-shot the Broncos 12-6 but due to good goaltending Swift Current escaped the frame in a 0-0 tie. 

  Michael Stickland then started the Broncos' romp to victory with a hardworking goal at 10:41 of period two. For the longest time the game was tight. The Rebels had a perfect road game going but Stickland's goal seemed to break it wide open. The Broncos took over from there and had their first offensive breakout game in a while. A few of the goals scored were of the entertaining variety, including a highlight-reel goal by Cody Eakin as he beat two defenders and then the goalie with a drive-by to make it 2-0.  Dillon Wagner scored an interesting one when he shot a blind backhander at the maze of humanity net-front and ended up scoring. And of course Justin Dowling put three on the board for the hat trick. The Broncos also got boost from their defense. With the absence of captain Derek Claffey who sat out with a mild concussion, the young guns had to step up on the blue line and eat up the large number of minutes Claffey would normally play.   

  The two wins this weekend brought the team back to within one point of Moose Jaw for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Although Moose Jaw has two games in hand, they have yet to endure a tough U.S. division road trip before the end of the season. For the Broncos, the toughest portion of their remaining schedule is coming right up. They'll play Calgary, Saskatoon and Brandon in their next three matchups. So right now would be a great time to get on a roll.

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  The Swift Current Legionnaires spent this weekend in Beardys, where they lost 6-3 yesterday and 5-4 in overtime earlier today. The two road games were not broadcast live due to the unavailability of internet or cell phone services in the area. G Kyler Beckett took yesterday's loss with 31 saves, and G Lukas MacDonald earned first star honours in today's game with 49 saves.
  Their two losses and a couple of other relevant teams' wins eliminated the club from contention for a playoff spot. As of now they would need nine points to tie for eighth place in the league, but only have four games remaining. So the total number of points needed has now become unattainable.
  The team has had a very tough go this season on the injury front. What made it worse was who sustained the injuries. For the most part, the injured players happened to be team leaders and top point producers. The Legionnaires also started the season 0-10 and made it really difficult for themselves right off the hop.
  Up next for the club is a Thursday night visit to Wilcox for a meeting with the Notre Dame Argos. That game will be heard live on the Legionnaires broadcast network.

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  The Diamond Energy Wildcats capped off a fine weekend in fine fashion this afternoon with a 7-2 win over the Melville Prairie Fire. Melville also got beat 5-0 yesterday at the hands of the Wildcats. Leanne Gerwing got both wins between the pipes for the 'Cats, who finished off the home portion of their regular season schedule.
  They'll play one more road game....Wednesday night in P.A., before playoffs. They'll also make their way to Minnesota for a tournament before league playoffs begin.
  More details on that coming up in a later post.

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Enjoy your Super Bowl Sunday!