The Warman U13AA Wildcats found a way to win the first game in their best-of-three provincial championship series against the Swift Current Broncos.
The Wildcats earned a 6-4 victory on home ice against the Broncos on Tuesday, April 2, despite being out-shot 58-30 – almost a two-to-one margin.
But, it was one of the toughest challenges the team has faced all season. Swift Current took charge from the opening faceoff, dominating the play in the early going and peppering Warman goaltender Ty Keywoski with shots from close range. One of those shots, a well-placed wrister by Chad Logan, found the back of the net and gave the Broncos an early lead.
By the middle of the first period, Swift Current held a 19-4 shot advantage and a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard.
Then, the tide turned. Sort of.
Warman’s Reid Viden capitalized on a rare first-period scoring opportunity to put one past Broncos goalie Cole Anderson at the 12:46 mark, getting the Wildcats on the board and prompting a sigh of relief from the hometown fans.
Nine seconds later, his teammate Jesse Scriven scored to make it 2-1 for Warman. That got the house rocking and ramped up the intensity level.
Carter Bleau potted one for the visitors late in the period to tie the game at 2-2.
Heading into the first intermission, Swift Current still held a 28-12 advantage in shots on goal.
But, it’s the ones that go in that count. Sullivan Bursaw scored for Warman six minutes into the middle frame to restore the Wildcats’ one-goal lead.
Swift Current once again tied things up on a skilful goal by Dallin Mitchell at the 14 minute mark to make it 3-3.
The Wildcats were able to kill off a four-minute Broncos power play late in the period, thanks to some incredible saves by Keyowski; and the period ended with the score still tied.
Scriven’s second goal of the game for the Wildcats early in the third period was followed up by a power play marker by teammate Caleb Philp, giving the home team a seemingly-comfortable 5-3 margin.
But, in playoff hockey, no lead is safe.
The Broncos redoubled their efforts late in the game and were rewarded by a goal from Dylan Bye to make it 5-4 with just over two minutes left in regulation. Swift Current pulled their goalie in the final minute, and Wildcats’ defenseman Will Kasner took advantage by flipping the puck into the empty net after his centerman won the faceoff.
The Wildcats now head to Swift Current for Game Two on Friday, April 5. Game Three, if necessary, is back in Warman on Sunday, April 7 at the Warman Home Centre C0mmuniplex (game time is 6:00 p.m.).
Warman head coach Cam Kayter said he was proud of how his players responded to the challenge in Game One.
“I don’t think we were as sharp as maybe we were in the past, at least in the first period,” said Kayter. “But our third period was a different story. When the chips are down our guys show up. We’ve played in some big games against some really tough competition, and Swift Current is about the toughest.
“I thought we did a lot of good things in the third period. We just have to take that forward to Swift Current.”
Kayter said it’s no surprise the Broncos are in the provincial final series.
“They’re a good strong team,” he said. “In this game, they out-shot us, but at the end of the day, we have some really skilled players and they stepped up to make some big plays when it counted.”
While Kayter said the whole team worked hard, he singled out Keyowski and Scriven for their extra efforts in Game One.
“Ty played fantastic,” he said. “I don’t know how many breakaways he stopped; and Jesse is a 200-foot player who leads by example. He does a lot of things right at both ends of the ice.”
Kayter said he expects the game in Swift Current to be packed and loud, and added the coaching staff is looking to keep the players focused on the game plan that’s brought them this far.
“We tell the players: work hard, play smart, play as a team, move pucks, don’t get too high or too low, emotionally” said Kayter. “Stick to the process and at the end of the day we’ll come out ahead.”