They couldn't win over Melfort, but they triumphed over the Hawks.
The Humboldt Broncos took on the Melfort Mustangs twice between January 25 and 28 and were unable to come up with a win.
On January 25, in a game that honoured Broncos long-time volunteer and trainer Elgar Petersen on his 75th birthday, Humboldt came back after giving away points early in the game, but they were not able to pull off a last-minute victory.
Melfort scored first in the game, getting the puck past Bronco netminder Andrew Bodnarchuk at 2:53 of the first. They added a second to their total at 7:06, and a third at 8:16 before Humboldt answered back with a goal by Adam Antkowiak, assisted by Adam Zbitniff, at 8:26.
The score was 3-1 heading into the second period, but Melfort added two more points to their total at 1:23 and 1:59 to make it a 5-1 game.
The Broncos slowly but surely whittled away at that lead, however.
Dayton Shaw scored on a power play at 6:42, assisted by Ward Szucki and Kameren Ballas, in Humboldt's second goal of the night.
Then Szucki struck on his own, again on a power play, at 7:37 of the second. Josh Roach and Taylor Johnson got the assists.
Finally, late in the third, with just 57 seconds left on the clock, Broncos' fans were elated when Szucki scored again on the power play, this time off passes from Greg Ferguson and Josh Roach, to bring the game within one.
But one more goal was not forthcoming and the game ended with Melfort up 5-4.
The Broncos out-shot the Mustangs 30 to 26, and scored on three out of five power plays. Melfort was zero for four on the power play that night.
Stars of the game were Szucki and Johnson of the Broncos, and Brody Haygarth of the Mustangs, who scored two of their goals.
Just three nights later, the two teams met again, this time in Melfort, and minus a Broncos' comeback.
Melfort scored twice on Broncos goaltender Matt Hrynkiw in the first period of the game, and twice more in the second without any answering points from Humboldt.
In the third, Jess Mireau of the Mustangs earned a hattrick, getting Melfort's final goal of the night at 8:51.
Humboldt finally got on the board with a point by Chase Wharton at 15:36 of the third. Jake Rawlins and Pat Tran got the assists.
But that was the only goal the Broncos managed to get that night.
The game ended with Melfort up 5-1.
Both teams made 37 shots on goal that night, and Humboldt was zero for two on the power play, while Melfort was one for one.
Then on January 30, the Broncos hosted the Nipawin Hawks, ranked last in the Saskatchewan Junior A Hockey League (SJHL), at home in Humboldt.
Scoring was light, with the Broncos scoring first at 12:48 of the first period. Brett Pisio got the point off a pass from Josh Roach.
The Hawks didn't answer back with a point of their own until the third period, when they scored on a power play at 5:52.
But Humboldt got the lead back with a goal at 13:07, scored by Roach and assisted by Adam Antkowiak.
Final score: 2-1 Humboldt.
Penalties in the game were relatively minor, but a fight broke out at 2:48 of the third that punted a player from each team from the game. Nathan Hudema of Humboldt dropped gloves with Jamie Johnson of the Hawks, which resulted in five-minute majors for fighting and game misconducts for both players.
The three stars of the night's game, in which Nipawin out-shot Humboldt 31 to 25, were all Broncos - Roach, Pisio and goaltender Andrew Bodnarchuk.
The Humboldt Broncos are now ranked fourth in the Bauer Conference of the SJHL with 47 points. In the league standings, they sit in eighth position. LaRonge is at the top of the SJHL with 70 points, followed by the Mustangs with 65 and the Yorkton Terriers with 64 points.
