STEVEN MAH Southern Alberta NEWSPAPERS
Swift Current Broncos forward Luke Mistelbacher scored nine of his 42 goals this season against the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The Swift Current Broncos are set to face the rival Medicine Hat Tigers in the opening round of Western Hockey League playoffs.
The Tigers won the Eastern Conference title on the final day of the regular season with a 47-17-3-1 record, 25 points ahead of the eighth-place Broncos (35-30-1-2).
“They are obviously a very offensive minded team,” said Broncos head coach Taras McEwen. “I think we are just going to have to do a good job of defending them, defend them off the rush and making sure that we do a good job of having numbers back, trying to slow some of their top guys down.”
The Tigers led the WHL with 300 goals this season. They also only allowed 193, the third fewest in the WHL.
“I think our group is excited to play them,” McEwen said. “The one thing with them is they are probably a little bit looser than a Calgary would be, so our top guys feel that they can get some chances. We have played well against them, so I think there is a lot of confidence going into the first round.”
The special teams battle also favours the Tigers as they finished fourth in the WHL at 27.9 per cent with 67 power play goals. The Broncos were 13th at 23.3 per cent.
The Tigers were fourth in penalty killing at 80 per cent, while the Broncos were 16th at 74.9 per cent. McEwen said discipline would be extremely important for his team.
“As much as possible we want to play them five-on-five, even just being mindful of going down four-on-four is probably a strength of theirs,” McEwen said. “We have to be very mindful of staying out of the box, but also, with that said, we have to play physical against their top guys. We have to make sure that we’re in their face trying to frustrate them as well.
“It’s definitely going to be a line that you’re going to have to walk and just be mindful of trying to draw them into penalties but not taking extras. It’s definitely going to be a fine line that we’re going to have to walk, but we want to be in their face, we want to be physical, it’s going to be important this series.”
Tigers star Gavin McKenna enters the playoffs on a 40-game point streak with 32 goals and 68 assists over that stretch. He finished second in the WHL with 129 points in only 56 games in his second season.
“He’s definitely someone you have to be aware of when he’s on the ice. I think he drives their team,” McEwen said “He’s one guy, especially with how he’s played as of late, producing in every game for whatever his point streak was, he’s someone that if you can keep him out of the game and keep him under control I think you’ll have success against their team.
“But they are a real deep team. They have four good lines, four lines that can create and you have to play every line hard. I think you have to be mindful of their top line, that’s a real driver for them. We have some matchups in mind that we want to play those guys. I feel confident that four lines we match up pretty well against their team.”
The Broncos had success against Medicine Hat this season with two wins and two losses.
“I think any time you play well against a top team I think guys definitely feel that. I think our guys are excited to get an opportunity to play Medicine Hat,” said McEwen.
Broncos’ 42-goal man Luke Mistelbacher had nine goals and 11 points in the season series. Oasiz Wiesblatt led the Tigers with six points, followed by former Bronco Mat Ward with five.
The Broncos will be facing their Highway 1 rival for the first time in the playoffs since 2014 when players like Colby Cave, Jake DeBrusk and Dillon Heatherington suited up for the Broncos.
“I expect both arenas to have a lot of fans going back and forth. There will be a lot of fun and a lot of excitement. Our group is real confident. It’s a real different style than a Calgary would have been. I think for us and how we play and how we match up it probably benefits us more to play Medicine Hat. With that said, we have to do a good job of defending and staying out of the penalty box and keeping their top guys under control, which is going to be a difficult task. With everybody coming back and we should be healthy by game one, I think we’re in a good spot,” said McEwen.
The Broncos will rely on their playoff experience, including 31 games from overage defenseman Hunter Mayo, who led the Red Deer Rebels to an upset series win over the Tigers last season.
“I know he’s very excited for the series and someone that we’ll lean on to play a lot of minutes for us trying to keep their top guys under control,” said McEwen “I feel that a lot of our guys have that experience from last year, have experience from other teams, so we’re still a veteran group, we have an older core that understands what it takes to win. I expect them all to elevate their games here this week into the weekend.”
The best-of-seven series begins on Friday and Saturday in Medicine Hat. Games 3 and 4 will be Tuesday and Wednesday in Swift Current.
