Broncos maintain home win record as they welcomed North Stars

The first two periods were high-scoring affairs with Alex Morozoff being the first to find the back of the net just 1:09 into the first followed by Gibson only five minutes later. Both Broncos forwards would each add another goal to their name in the second, followed by Cody Hough adding his own unassisted goal to make the score 5-1 going into the third period.

Lucas Ceccarelli would add another goal 1:02 into the third as tensions started to rise between the two teams.

Both Connor Casparie and the North Stars’ Matthew Henry would leave the game with 10-minute misconducts before the buzzer would sound on the 6-2 Broncos win.

With 988 total penalty minutes after Saturday’s game, the Broncos will soon be the first team this season to break 1,000 minutes.

Gibson said they are not willing to let much go on the ice.

“We don’t take much from anyone, I think that’s part of our identity as a team. We’re hard to play against and we’re not afraid to mix it up.”

Assistant coach Rhett Blackmur told northeastNOW they have had “rock-solid” penalty kill all season with not many penalty minutes to contend with last night. The Broncos are currently second in the league for penalty kill success; 89.2 per cent to 91.7 per cent for the Estevan Bruins, and Blackmur said they need that as they look to hold on to first in the Global Ag Risk Solutions division and the league.

Power play success is another story for the Broncos as they sit sixth in the league at only a 21.1 per cent success rate.

As the Broncos look to improve that percentage, Blackmur said moving the puck and finding the back of the net is key to finding more success on the power play.

“The guys are out there. They know what they have to do and just got to go to work and do it.”

Once again, Rayce Ramsay took the win in net stopping 25 of 27 shots on goal against the Battlefords. Ramsay continues to be the hardest working goalie in the SJHL with the most minutes in net and the most wins this season. With a .926 save percentage, Ramsay is tied for second with Yorkton’s Kael DePape as they trail Estevan’s Boston Bilous for top goalie in the SJHL.

Blackmur said Ramsay is one of those players who doesn’t want a night off.

“He does the preparation before the games, after games, you know, on days off, in the gym, just working on his body and he takes really good care of himself so that he can play every game.”

The Broncos have won eight of their last 10 games but are only now on a single-game winning streak. They will be looking to make it two as they take this momentum into their rematch against Melville as they hit the ice again today for a 2 p.m. puck drop.

Gibson said the green and gold will be looking to stay fresh with short shifts, more communication, and playing as a unit as they look to right some wrongs from Jan. 4 and pick up a two-game winning streak.

With 56 points in 37 games, the Humboldt Broncos are still holding onto first place in the SJHL, followed by the Estevan Bruins with 53 points.

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becky.zimmer@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @bex_zim

by Becky Zimmer

Broncos maintain home win record as they welcomed North Stars

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