Mathew Ward notched his first WHL hat trick and Connoer Hvidston scored twice to lead the Swift Current Broncos to a 7-2 win over the visiting Medicine Hat Tigers on Friday. The Broncos led for nearly the entire game, building up an early 2-0 lead that they refused to relinquish.
The Broncos struck 1:13 into regulation with a Connor Hvidston goal on a shot from a slot that was deflected and went through a pair of skates for his fourth goal in the past five games.The Broncos doubled the lead just past the midway point of the first period when Mathew Ward went top shelf only five seconds into a power play off a perfect centering feed from Raphael Pelletier. The Tigers cut the lead in half when Teague Patton scored his 10th goal of the season.
The Broncos regained the lead midway through the second period when Pelletier one-timed home his 13th goal of the season only 22 seconds into the Broncos second power play opportunity of the game. The Tigers cut back into the lead when Bogdans Hodass scored during four-on-four action when he got behind the Broncos defense.
Hvidston scored his second of the game in the third period when he doubled the lead with a rebound goal on the backhand. Ward added to his goal total with an easy tap in goal on a backdoor feed from Pelletier midway through the final frame. Minutes later he completed his hat trick with a top shelf shot on another perfect setup from Pelletier. Karson King closed the scoring with his second goal of the season.
Ward had one assist for a four-point outing. Pelletier finished with four points as well, while Braeden Lewis had a career outing with three assists.
Reid Dyck made 22 saves to improve to 4-9-1-0. Garin Bjorklund fell to 6-20-2-0 with 22 saves on 29 shots.
The Broncos improved to 18-24-5-1, while the Tigers fell to 9-31-3-1 with their fifth straight loss.
The Broncos will host the Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday to conclude a three-game home stand.
