The Warriors endured one of their worst periods of the season in a three-goal second frame from the Broncos and would go on to a 4-1 Western Hockey League loss at the Credit Union Iplex.
Before the Warriors even took the ice, there was great news -- defenceman Cole Jordan returned to the line-up for the first time since Oct. 2. The 18-year-old Calgary Flames fifth-round draft pick had missed 24 games due to a lingering non-COVID viral infection that had sapped his strength. The team took utmost caution with his return to the line-up and Jordan had been practicing daily for the last month-plus in order to get back up to pace.
Things were mostly even-steven in the first frame, with the best chance coming with 3:12 remaining. A missed pass at the blueline led to the Broncos’ Matthew Ward going in on a breakaway and drawing a penalty shot. But Carl Tetachuk would be up to the task, shutting the door when Ward tried to go five-hole.
The Warriors used a power play late in the frame to generate a host of shots on Broncos goaltender Isaac Poulter and would take a 13-9 lead in that category into the break.
But things changed drastically when the two teams returned to the ice.
The Broncos took advantage of a scramble in the Warriors zone to score their Teddy Bear Toss goal 4:12 into the second period. Sam McGinley did the honours, taking a drop pass from Cole Nagy out of a gaggle of skates and beating Tetachuk glove high.
That goal was a product of bad luck, and Swift Current’s second marker was even worse, as Raphael Pelletier’s harmless looking shot from behind the red line banked off Tetachuk and in two minutes later.
Tetachuk would be the only reason the deficit sat at two goals by the 10 minute mark of the second period, as the Warriors committed turnover after turnover in their offensive zone and saw the Broncos generate a slew of scoring chances.
Swift Current made that pressure pay off with 4:35 remaining, when Matthew Ward hit Josh Filmon with a long pass from the Warriors blueline and into the slot, sending Filmon in all alone for the goal.
The Warriors had a few scoring chances in the frame, but Poulter stopped all he saw on the one or two times they had pressure. By the time the period was done, Swift Current had outshot Moose Jaw 16-5 in the frame and had complete control of the contest.
The Warriors were able to regain their stride in the third period and generated a host of chances of their own -- outshooting the Broncos 13-4 at one point -- but wouldn’t be able to beat Poulter during their run.
Moose Jaw pulled Tetachuk with just over three minutes remaining and while on the man advantage, but the Broncos controlled the play despite the six-on-four, took multiple shots at the empty net and finally had Pelletier score from his own zone with 1:16 left in the game.
As well as he played, there would be no shutout for Poulter as Josh Hoekstra scored on the above power play with 37 seconds to play.
Tetachuk faced 31 shots in taking the loss, the Warriors had 34 shots on Poulter.
The Warriors fell to 12-13-1-1 as their quest to finally get back over .500 on the season continues. Swift Current improved to 11-12-2-1 and now sit two points back of the Warriors for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
The two teams will be right back at it on Saturday night for the Warriors Teddy Bear Toss game. Festivities kick off at 7 p.m. at Mosaic Place and fans are asked to bring a new and unwrapped stuffed animal, toque or mittens to throw on the ice after the Warriors’ first goal. Fans are asked to put your gifts in plastic bags for their protection.
