Written by: Rory McGouran
It was not the performance the Broncos were hoping for in the midst of their 3-game road trip.
After defeating the Weyburn Red Wings on Thursday night in a valiant 60-minute effort, it was a totally different looking team as the Humboldt Broncos fell rather flat throughout the majority of the game on Friday, dropping a 4-1 defeat to the Estevan Bruins.
The opening frame was competitive.
Estevan outshot Humboldt 8-7, but it was the Broncos who found the opening goal. Travis Bryson took a feed from Matthew Van Blaricom and showed poise while cutting across the crease and slipping the puck under the pad of an outstretched Jackson Miller. It was the first goal in 10 games for Bryson and his 16th of the year. Van Blaricom extended his point-streak to five games with the assist.
From there on out, the Broncos were completely shut down.
Estevan controlled most of the offensive pressure while limiting the Broncos to just three shots in the 2nd period and six in the 3rd. Overall, Humboldt’s 16 shots on goal set a new season low.
In a repeating occurrence over the past 10 games, powerplays were again an issue.
Estevan had seven powerplays to the Broncos four (one of which was just two seconds long due to overlapping penalties). The Bruins capitalized on two of their seven attempts. Humboldt went 0/4.
Keagon Little finished with a pair of goals for Estevan, while Zack Burfoot and Blake Heward added the others.
Ben Motew tuned aside 33 of 36 shots but accumulated the loss dropping his record to 16-7-2-1.
The good news for the Broncos is they have a quick chance to bounce back and shake off their performance as they wrap up their 3-game road trip on Saturday, back at Affinity Place in a rematch against the Bruins.