Written by: Rory McGouran
Boris Kofman scored the shootout winner, and both Head Coach, Brayden Klimosko and Captain, Landen Stromme celebrated their birthdays with a 3-2 victory over the Melville Millionaires on Friday night.
It was 60 minutes filled with penalty calls, the majority of which were against the Broncos resulting in three separate situations with the Millionaires on a 5-on-3 powerplay. The Broncos could have let their frustrations with the officiating get the better of them. Instead, they showed sheer determination and continued to fight their way through a mucky contest in Melville.
In total the Broncos were shorthanded nine times, killing off seven of them. The most impressive of which was a full two-minute 5-on-3 for a delay of game and bench-minor penalty taking place in the same shift.
All four combined goals throughout regulation were a result of the mass of penalties, all coming on the powerplay.
The Broncos finished 2/6 on their man advantages.
Connor Miller (5) opened the scoring in the second period, followed by two Melville powerplay goals from Raiden Zacharias and Boston Harkness, building a 2-1 Millionaire’s lead heading into the third.
After Brady Holtvogt turned aside a Jackson Lee shorthanded breakaway attempt, the Broncos transitioned, and a rebounded puck found the stick of Kye Benoche who tied the game with his seventh goal of the season.
The Broncos determination wasn’t hinged on just killing penalties. On two separate occasions, Stromme and Oakley McIlwain took a puck to the face and managed to finish lengthy shifts with blood dripping from their face, resulting in an uplifting effect to the Broncos bench and a change of momentum on the ice.
Brady Holtvogt was spectacular on the evening, turning aside 31 of 33 shots faced, and then also stopping all three Melville shooters in the shootout (Caden Drury, Raiden Zacharias, Raine Hodge). Holtvogt remains perfect on the season with a 4-0-0 record.
Kofman was the lone Bronco to score in the shootout following unsuccessful attempts by Benoche and Miller.
The Broncos’ road weekend continues as they’ll travel across the province on Saturday, heading into Kindersley to tackle the Klippers.
