The Swift Current Broncos got 30 saves from Joel Hofer in his first career shutout in a 4-0 win over the visiting Prince George Cougars Tuesday.
The Broncos opened the scoring 13:01 into the first period when Tyler Steenbergen tipped home a beautiful pass from Glenn Gawdin for his 37th goal of the season.
The Broncos continued to dominate play but were unable to score until late in the second period when Matteo Gennaro fired home his 32nd goal of the season on the power play for a 2-0 lead after two periods.
The Broncos added two goals in the their period to close the scoring. Max Patterson deflected home a goal just after a power play expired. Josh Anderson scored against his former team when he jumped into the rush on the power play and tapped home his own rebound.
“I think we struggled a little bit tonight,” said defenseman Colby Sissons. “We kinda played down to their level maybe for the first few periods and maybe throughout the whole game. But I think at the end of the day we stuck to our plan and it paid off in the end.”
Hofer made 30 saves to improve to 6-2-0-1, while Tavin Grant made 36 saves on 40 shots to fall to 12-14-3-1.
The Broncos improved to 36-12-3-1 with their third straight win, while Prince George fell to 18-25-4-4.
The Broncos spent much of the third period shorthanded and really had to battle to keep Hofer’s shutout bid alive.
“We definitely wanted to get that one for him for sure,” said Sissons “He has been pretty good for us all year. When he has come in he has done his job. It was nice to get that one for him tonight.”
Sissons finished with three assists and now has 54 points in 52 games.
“I was just working off Gawds [Glenn Gawdin] and Steener [Tyler Steenbergen] and them, they have been playing well lately. I have just been getting lots of shots on net and finding lanes lately. Patty [Max Patterson] is a big body in front of the net, so he has been giving me a good chance for things to go in.”
The Broncos are off for the rest of the week until they visit the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Friday and the Kootenay Ice on Saturday.
The game in Lethbridge will have particular significance as Georgio Estephan, Stuart Skinner, and Tanner Nagel all face their former team for the first time.
“It is tough going back on the road so quick after the U.S. trip again,” admitted Sissons. “We have to take care of it in Lethbridge for the guys we have on our team. It is going to be a big game for them and we want to prove why we got them and go in there and take charge. In Kootenay as well we want to go there and look for two wins.”
