Broncos Buck the ICE out of the Playoffs

By Jeff Bromley
Revenge, they say, is a dish best served cold. For B.J. Boxma it is a dish that will probably taste sweeter, if you’ll excuse the pun, on ice. Boxma, the former Kootenay ICE goaltender who was traded to the Swift Current Broncos for a third round pick in this year’s Bantam draft to get the chance at being a starting goaltender in the WHL, decidedly had the last laugh on his former teammates as the Swift Current Broncos downed the Kootenay ICE 3-2 in the seventh and deciding game of the WHL semi-finals to take the series 4-3 and move on to face the Red Deer Rebels in the Eastern Conference final. For Boxma and the Broncos, the game was an almost perfect example of how to win a game on the road in the playoffs. Even though it was a seventh game Boxma felt the pressure was squarely on the shoulders of the ICE. “It was a hard fought series,” said Boxma. “We thought they had all the pressure on them being at home. We just had to come out and play solid defensively and capitalize on our chances and that’s exactly what we did.” In beating his former club and in the process, beating his former goal-tending mate in Dan Blackburn, Boxma has now come full circle and emerged from Blackburn’s shadow in proving to everyone that he is indeed a number one goaltender in the WHL. “Danny’s a great guy but when we’re out on the ice we’re enemies,” said the Edson, Alta. native affectionately known as ‘Boxer’. “I for sure wanted to come in and win the series no matter how many games it took and I guess I can look back be thankful for the trade. They (the ICE) gave me the chance to play and there’s no hard feelings .”

The play from the onset seemed spotty and apprehensive by both clubs with the edge going to the Broncos as the ICE were playing somewhat uncomfortably and seemed to fighting the puck in their own zone. Call it seventh game jitters perhaps being from only the second seventh game in their young five year history but on this night the ICE looked like they were running out of gas. The ICE struggled all evening long under the auspices of the Bronco’s formidable forecheck that gave the ICE d-men fits trying to get the puck out of their own zone.

That was no more evident than on the first Bronco goal as Dean Serdachny corralled a clearing attempt by the ICE and sent a shot in on Dan Blackburn from the blueline. The rebound was gobbled up by an unchecked Tim Smith who lifted the puck over Blackburn to put Swift Current up 1-0. Kootenay then tied the score from a streaking Mike Lee who rifled a wrist shot over the shoulder of Boxma to end the first with the score knotted at one.

In the second the clubs came out and played some fast-paced hockey that included spectacular saves at both ends of the rink. Although out-shot by the Broncos 14-7 in the second frame, the ICE hung in as the teams traded markers by Richard Hamula and Paul Deniset and the clubs remained deadlocked at two going into the third frame. If the first two periods were indicative of shoddy play within their own zone by the ICE and spectacular goal-tending by Dan Blackburn, the third became a period of frustration as B.J. Boxma shut the door on the ICE on numerous occasions including what turned out to be the save of the series when Boxma stoned Jarret Stoll from in close that was thought to be a sure goal. With the ICE pressing just moments later, an odd-man rush developed for the Broncos as Tim Smith fed a pass to a wide open Duncan Milroy who tucked it under a sprawling Dan Blackburn for the eventual game-winner.

Quick Hits -The game’s three stars were the three graduating players from the ICE who had played their last game in the WHL. Mike Lee, Brett DeCecco and Dean Arsene all received standing ovations from the ICE faithful….The third line for the ICE, Lee, Hamula and Colin Sinclair were far and away the best line of the night for the ICE. In spectacular fashion, Mike Lee probably had his best game in an ICE uniform… In an eerie twist of irony, former Kootenay ICE star and current Edmonton Oiler Mike Comrie scored the O.T. winner for the Oilers over the Dallas Stars to tie the NHL playoff series at two at about the same time the ICE were being eliminated from the WHL playoffs.