The Swift Current Broncos are back on home ice on Wednesday night as they welcome to the Calgary Hitmen to InnovationPlex.
Broncos Interim Head Coach Regan Darby wants them to play in a similar way to when Swift Current beat Calgary 3-1 back on February 11.
“We had success against them in the last game there in Calgary,” Darby said. “We want to play the same way. It’s the same game we played against Edmonton. We want to establish a forecheck. We want to be able to turn pucks over. We want to protect the inside and be on top of them in the neutral zone as well. They have a team that can score.
“I really have liked our D zone lately. We’re protecting the inside well. Guys are using their sticks to turn pucks over a lot more, not letting guys roll into the inside and get a whole bunch of big shot volume like we had in the past. I’ve been really happy with that. That part is going to be important for us to be successful against Calgary. Then just discipline, as always. We’ve been better on the special teams, especially the PK. But just staying out-of-the-box is a big part of it for us.”
He was pleased with how their banged up group responded after a tough loss in Lethbridge to start a three-in-three last weekend.
“Going into the weekend, we had some injuries and had some call-ups with some APs playing,” Darby said. “Great opportunity for those guys to get in the lineup and see what it takes to play in the league. Not the start we wanted in Lethbridge. It wasn’t the results we expected, but we had a rebound game there in Red Deer and then a really good game against Edmonton.”
The Broncos got some of their veteran players back in the lineup and were happier with the way they played later in the weekend.
“We got some guys in the lineup, so that helped us with a little more experience,” Darby said. “But our structure got better. Our attention to detail got better as the weekend went on.
“The last game in Edmonton… I thought both teams had a lot of energy. It felt like a pretty competitive game. Very structured in that game. Played the right way. Defended well and had a good showing from Archer Cook in as well.”
While the Broncos were happy to get Marek Ročák back from the long term injury list lately, his return coincided with month-to-month injuries to Jace McFaul, Easton LaPlante, and Stepan Kuryachenkov.
“Can’t seem to get a break in that department,” Darby said. “Getting Ročák back was a big deal for our team. He’s an experienced player in the league. He’s got really good hockey IQ, skates well, makes really good plays. He played really well for him being out all year… played a lot in those games and was a big part of our back end.”
The Broncos are 1-2 against Calgary this season. It’s the final game between the two clubs in 2025-26.
Swift Current is looking to snap a nine-game losing skid. They have overtime or shootout losses in four of those games.
You can hear Wednesday night’s game with Redhead Equipment Case IH Broncos Hockey on Country 94.1 FM at 6:45 pm.
Puck drop is 7:00 pm at InnovationPlex.