The Humboldt Broncos displayed a resilient effort on Friday night against the Nipawin Hawks but fell short on the scoreboard as they suffered a 2-1 loss.
It was a fast-paced start to the game with no whistles through the first three minutes of the game. Shortly afterwards, Rylan Hue opened the scoring, knocking in a loose rebound to give the Broncos the early advantage.
Brady Holtvogt was sharp in his first action for the Broncos since returning from the Viking Cup during the Christmas break, turning aside 19 shots as the Broncos led 1-0 after 20 minutes.
Penalty troubles caught up with the green and gold in the second period. After taking three penalties in the first period, the Broncos were assessed four penalties in the second period. Nipawin found themselves with an extended 5-on-3, which they capitalized on with Braeden Jockims scoring to even the game at 1-1.
With 31 seconds remaining in the period, the Hawks forced a turnover inside the Broncos end, as Sean Shiels scored to move Nipawin ahead 2-1 after the second period.
The ice tilted back into the Broncos favour in the third period, outshooting Nipawin 14-4, but were unable to find the equalizer as the Hawks hung on to a 2-1 win.
Morgan Hackman made his Broncos debut on Friday after being acquired by the team on Thursday, but didn’t find his way onto the scoresheet. But he came close on a couple of occasions, hitting the post on multiple occasions and deflecting a shot that just missed an open net.
Holtvogt ended the game making 36 saves for the Broncos.
Humboldt was 0 for 4 on the power play while Nipawin was 1 for 7 on the extra-man advantage.
(Blaine Weyland - Discover Humboldt)
