Josh Davies scored twice while shorthanded as he notched his first Western Hockey League hat trick while leading the Swift Current Broncos to a 5-2 win over the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday.
Davies staked the Broncos to a 2-0 lead in the first period with goals 5:15 apart. The first came on a screened wrist shot from distance while the second was a shorthanded marker where he got behind the defense on a turnover and knocked home his own rebound for his seventh goal of the season.
Davies completed his hat trick midway through the second period when he took advantage of another turnover and snapped a puck past Kolby Hay. Carson Golder got the Oil Kings on the board with a power play goal, but Mathew Ward responded with a late goal in the period for a 4-1 lead. The Oil Kings scored in the final minute when Gavin Hodnett found a loose puck and fired it in for a 4-2 score after two periods.
The Broncos locked things down in the third period and sealed the win with an empty net goal from defenseman Adam McNutt.
Reid Dyck picked up his second win of the season with 26 saves. Kolby Hay made 18 saves in a losing cause as the Oil Kings fell to 4-19-1-0.
The Broncos snapped a 10-game losing streak agains the Oil Kings as they improved to 10-11-0-0 on the season and moved into seventh spot in the Eastern Conference.
The two teams will rematch on Saturday in Swift Current.
Bronco Bits: The win marked the Broncos first win over Edmonton since October 2, 2019. The Oil Kings fell to 2-12-0-0 on the road this season. The Broncos improved to 7-7-0-0 at home this season.
