The Swift Current Broncos lost the special teams battle in a 6-3 loss to the Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday to fall behind two games to none in the best-of-seven opening round playoff series.
The Tigers scored early for a second straight game with a Bryce Pickford goal only 46 seconds into regulation. The Broncos tied the game 24 seconds later when Brady Birnie notched their first goal of the 2025 playoffs. The Tigers closed the period with goals from Ryder Ritchie and Oasiz Wiesblatt for a 3-1 lead.
The Broncos cut into the lead again when Rylan Gould scored on a wrister from the slot, but Wiesblatt replied with a power play marker, his fifth goal of the series. The Broncos got within one goal again when captain Clarke Caswell scored on an unexpected wraparound to make it 4-3 after two periods.
The Tigers doubled the lead again on a controversial goal in the third period when a Tigers player interfered with Reid Dyck, which allowed Ritchie to score another power play goal. The Tigers added an empty net goal from Gavin McKenna to close the scoring.
The Tigers finished three-for-six on the power play, while the Broncos failed to score on five man-advantages.
Dyck took the loss with 27 saves. Harrison Meneghin earned the win with 15 saves.
The series will return to Swift Current for games three and four on Tuesday and Wednesday.
