HUMBOLDT — The Humboldt Broncos are excited to get back on the ice.
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team is slated to tangle with the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox on Wednesday. The Broncos last played on Jan. 26. That victory over Notre Dame gave Humboldt a four-game winning streak. Head coach Scott Barney believes the rest will be good for his squad.
“We had a lot of games early, which is good,” he said. “We got to get to know each other pretty well. We got a lot of games. We didn’t get a lot of practice time, which can sometimes hamper. Obviously in December there, I think the guys were getting tired and maybe a little rundown a bit. So that break was really good at Christmas to get them mentally and physically back to where they want to be and excited to get back to the rink.
“I think that’s what’s going to happen here... get them mentally and physically centered for the last few weeks and into the playoffs.”
As of Sunday, the Broncos sat seventh in the SJHL standings. With 59 points, they were just one point back of sixth-place Melfort and two behind Flin Flon and Battlefords, who sat in fourth and fifth. As division leads earn the top three seeds, Estevan was third with 53 points. The Broncos’ Global Ag Risk Division foe Kindersley was second with 63 points, trailing Nipawin’s 69.
The Broncos had a record of 28-16-2-1. Humboldt had won seven of its last 10 games.
After Wednesday’s game against Notre Dame, the Broncos host Weyburn for Friday and Saturday night games. The Red Wings are 15-27-4-0 this season.
Felgueiras thankful
Broncos defenceman Chase Felgueiras recently returned from participating in the Canadian Junior Hockey League Prospects Game in Okotoks. The 18-year-old said he was thankful for the experience and exposure the event provided.
At the event, Felgueiras was reunited with players he met at the Team Canada West tryouts for the World Junior A Hockey Challenge. Felgueiras was listed in January as a potential sixth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in the NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings.
When asked what he has enjoyed most about playing for the Broncos, Felgueiras said:
“All the opportunities I have been given to develop myself as a person and as a player. All the relationships I have built with the guys will be life lasting. I could not have been more honoured to represent the Broncos this year and hope that I’m making all the guys that are no longer with us proud.”
Guenter recognized
Although he did not play last week, Broncos forward Owen Guenter received some recognition. Jamie Neugebauer, the voice of the Notre Dame Hounds, said that the Dewinton, Alta. product is his pick for the SJHL’s Most Underrated Player.
“[He] is so consistent, and affects almost every shift he’s on with his absolutely blazing speed. He never quits,” Neugebauer, wrote in his Neugsie’s Around the SJHL column on rodpedersen.com.
Guenter has 43 points in 47 games this season. He has been playing on the Broncos top-producing line with Michael Clarke and Drew Warkentine.
