Broncos Earn a Point in Saskatoon

The Broncos were hoping a lone goal would stand-up for the winner....and it almost did.

Josh Nichols tied the game for the Blades with just under five minutes to play as he got in behind the defense for a breakaway. The goal ruined the shutout bid for Morgan Clark who was again brilliant in goal making 33 saves.

Overtime settled nothing - despite starting the session three on three for a full two minutes after coincidental penalties at the end of regulation.

In the shootout, both the Blades Jeremy Boyer and Marek Viedensky scored nice goals while both Brad Hoban and Cody Eakin were denied. I have a feeling you could be seeing Viedensky's goal on an upcoming highlight reel. He pulled a "Marek Malik" type move as he came in from right to left putting his stick between his legs before going upstairs on Morgan Clark.

The single point puts the Broncos into a tie for the final playoff with Moose Jaw and a point out of 7th spot held by Prince Albert. It was a good night on the scoreboard with the Raiders, Warriors and to a lesser extent the Pats all losing.

-----------

I saw a sign in the stands held up by a young fan flash on the big screen at Credit Union Center last night... I didn't see what it said but I did see the name "Jon Keen...".

Later the Blades staff informed me it said "Jon Keen: Blades First Win???"

The sign must have been referencing a game last month between the two teams where the Blades in my opinion were over-celebratory in a win where emotions were high. I made the comment to the extent of "The Blades have won their first game of the season here tonight...". A tongue-in-cheek referral if you will.

Hey, I was just thrilled we have some out-of-town listeners. The sign was to have made it's way up to the media box...sadly I never saw it.

-----------

The Broncos rolled back into Saskatoon at 1am last night. I was into the station at 5:30am for the morning sports run/morning show.

I'll put together the WHL This Week - Radio Edition, Cody Eakin and Michael Stickland are coming by the station to tape a promo interview for the upcoming Bronco Skills Challenge next Thursday night as the Breakfast Boys go head-to-head. Then a quick blog update and pack and it's back on the bus headed east to Brandon by 1pm this afternoon. February is some kind of a month on the schedule for WHL teams.

I think I'm on Morley Scott's Vancouver Giants radio show tonight to preview the Eastern Conference pending we get into Brandon before he goes to air. The G-men are coming through here later this month and will provide a good test for all six teams in the east.

Personally, I'm just looking forward to getting settled in at the "Bio-Dome" later tonight in Brandon. The Canad Inns attached to the rink means you never really have to venture outdoors in a usually chilly Brandon.

---------

If I have time today, I'll post my interview with Broncos Governor Ben Wiebe that ran in our pre-game show last night.

Pending if the Broncos make the playoffs, they will not have access to home playoff dates in the opening round because of the World Women's Curling Championships.

Just what the Broncos will do or where they will play those games is still a little up in the air. The topic was brought up at WHL Governor Meetings last week.

Ben will share the latest. The different scenarios and leg-work to move these games will be a huge challenge. I'll post it later today.



Jon