Action in front of the net during Saturday's home game against the Battlefords North Stars lead to another goal for forward Cage Newans. He is currently leading on the points table for the Humboldt Broncos at 18 points along with Alec Saretzsky and Xavier Roy. (submitted photo/Becky Zimmer)

By Becky Zimmer

Still #2

Broncos hang onto second spot after October hockey action

Oct 31, 2022 | 3:55 PM

The Humboldt Broncos once again had a fairly strong month of Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League action as they continue to battle for first place.

After a strong September and start of October saw the Broncos with an eight-game winning streak, the La Ronge Ice Wolves handed them their first loss on Oct. 11. Full weekends of SJHL action put the Broncos at 8-2-0 for the month with losses on the road in Kindersley and North Battlefords.

Those losses were lessons learned for the new roster, assistant coach, Carter Hansen, told northeastNOW.

“I think it’s just a testament to how much time and effort these guys have put into getting themselves prepared, getting themselves ready to play the full 58-game season this year and they did very well this month. We’ve only lost three games all year so far so that’s a great start,” he said.

The green and gold finished the month with an overtime win against the first-place Battlefords North Stars, not quite breaking their current 15-game winning streak but adding their own win on home ice to split the home and home.

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The Broncos are currently sitting second to the North Stars in both the Global Ag Risk Solutions division and the provincial league with 26 points to Battlefords’ 32.

This past weekend, the North Stars played their “high tempo hockey”, which the Broncos need to live up to, Hansen said. He expects both teams to be even better when they meet up for two more home-and-homes scheduled for later in the season.

“They’re the top team in the league right now. We’re a close second in my opinion and then just keep using the lessons that we learned from them. They play a fast game, the exact same style we want to play with,” he said.

Building the team to get to that point, Hansen said there is great potential in their new players as well as their veteran leadership.

“Even though we had a lot of turnover, we got those core guys that are moving on the core values that we like to have here in Humboldt and passing it on to those other new guys and hopefully that cycle just keeps repeating themselves with good leaders,” he said.

Unlike last year when the SJHL leaderboard was full of Bronco names throughout the season, 12 players have broken double digits in points, more than any other SJHL roster; Battlefords is next with 11 players. Topping the list right now is Broncos veterans Cage Newans and Alec Saretzky and rookie forward, Xavier Roy, all with 18 points right now.

For Hansen and the rest of the coaching staff, this is a sign that all four lines are contributing and turning those personal successes into team success.

“It’s just been a lot of good give and take so far throughout the start of the year and I think that’s why you see a bunch of our guys all hovering around the same amount of points. As long as at least there’s team success, honestly, at the end of the day, we’re going to be happy no matter what,” Hansen said.

The Broncos will be back at it for a three-game trip down south as they face Estevan on Nov. 3, Weyburn on Nov. 4, and then back in Estevan on Nov. 5.

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becky.zimmer@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @bex_zim