Tri-City lost 6-2 in Swift Current Tuesday night as the Americans reached the halfway mark in their Central Division road trip. Eric Kahl of Tri-City made his first career WHL Start and played above expectations and better than what will go down on paper.
Rylan Gould opened the scoring just under halfway through the first period on the powerplay to give Swift Current the lead. After a botched cross-ice pass, the puck fell to Gould’s stick. Gould would then toss the puck over American goaltender Erick Kahl’s blocker.
Connor Geekie would get his first goal in a Swift Current Broncos Uniform after being traded by the Wenatchee Wild a few days prior after a bad defensive play behind the net by the Americans. Connor Geekie was able to steal the puck and bring it out front. Geekie would shove it five-hole on Eric Kahl to double the Swift Current lead with just a minute left in the first period.
Shots after one period of play were 17-10 in favor of Swift Current.
Nick Anisimovic continued his promising season, getting his third goal of the campaign. Anisimovic began driving the net from the right wing, firing it over Swift Current Bronco goalie Joey Rocha to cut the Bronco’s lead down to one.
Parker Bell tied the game at 12:35 in the second period. Bell walked through center ice, dangling in the slot where Bell fired a wrister that would go bar down on Rocha.
Connor Hvidston would quickly give the Broncos the lead back, scoring two minutes after Bell’s game-tying goal. Hvidston would get marked with the game-winning goal. From this point on, it was all Broncos.
Shots after two periods of play were 28-25 in favor of Swift Current.
Shortly into the third period, at 5:54, Caleb Wyrostok gathered the puck after a battle out front and stubbed it over Kahl’s glove to make it 4-2 Swift Current.
Clarke Casswell would seal the deal for the Broncos just under 11 minutes into the third period. Casswell would score on a short-handed side and shatter the momentum for the Americans.
Josh Filmon would add another powerplay goal to the books for the Swift Current Broncos at 14:08 in the third period. Filmon received a cross-crease pass from Caleb Wyrostok and went five-hole on Kahl.
With their loss, Tri-City move to 16-18-3 on the season. Tri-City will look to redeem themselves on Thursday, Jan. 8, against the Edmonton Oil Kings, who also have former American Captain Marc Lajoie on the roster. Puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m.
Northwest Sports Desk 