By Allison Werbowetsky /

After getting booted early from the playoffs by Medicine Hat last spring, and sitting a hair above the playoff cut-off line this year, the Swift Current Broncos are hoping for a turnaround.

A disappointing 3-2 loss to Prince Albert on Feb. 21 gave the Broncos six losses in 11 games this month and put the squad seventh in the Eastern Conference.

And it’s not going to get much easier.

Looking to battle Vancouver (ranked second in the Western Conference) and Calgary (tied for first in the Eastern Conference) in the coming weeks has most of the players on edge.
“I think it’s because we’re getting closer to the playoffs,” said Broncos overage forward Michael Stickland.

“I know it’s been on all our minds. You know, we’re thinking, ‘Are we going to be in or are we going to be out?’ I think we’ve been putting too much time and thought into that and it’s been taking away from our games that we still have to play before the playoffs.

“We’re scared to lose, so in turn, maybe we’re running around a little bit and not playing the systems the way we’re supposed to be. I think right now, we have to have a little desperation. We’re a team that really has nothing to lose at this point. We’re already sitting out of a playoff spot, but we can only go up from here. Desperation, I think, is the key.”

Assistant coach Tim Kehler agrees the pressure has been getting to everybody lately. He hopes his team can begin to hold it together a bit better and start producing more wins soon.

“Honestly, I think that with so much focus and emphasis on making the playoffs and all the pressures that go along with that, we’ve put too much pressure on ourselves as a group,” Kehler said.

“As coaches and players, it’s hard not to watch the scoreboard every day, to be in tune with how the other teams are doing and to see if we’ve made up ground or lost ground.

“As difficult as it is to do, I think we need to do a better job of staying in the moment, focusing in on the things that we can control and not having that feeling that every game is life or death,” he said.

Kehler also says they have noticed some mistakes in the last few games, both mental and physical, that they hope to overcome before facing Vancouver.

Broncos captain Derek Claffey said it’s important to remain relentless and maintain a good work ethic.

“I mean, it’s not like we’ve been terribly outplayed in our games, we’re just not getting the breaks. We just need to figure out a way to come out on top in those situations and I think we’re going to be just fine,” he said.

One major issue is the squad’s struggling powerplay.

“That’s been our achilles heel for months now,” Kehler said. “We’ve gotten away with lack of production because our penalty kill has been so effective.

“But you know, we’ve tried some different things, we’ve put some different guys together, and I think we’re at the point where we really need to show some trust in the 10 guys that we’re asking to execute on the powerplay.

“We need to stick with them and put some faith in them and I think it’s something that we will work through.”

Broncos centre Matt Tassone says it’s also about becoming more physical and quick with the puck.

“Obviously, we’ve been struggling a little bit,” Tassone said. “We’ve been gaining a lot of powerplays and scoring a goal here or there, but it’s more about moving the puck around and we’re not really doing that.”

Kehler and head coach Mark Lamb had the team upping the tempo in fast-paced practices all week to prepare for a challenging five-games-in-seven-nights stretch.

“We’re working a lot on some simple things, back to our coverage in the defensive zone, picking up our coverage off the rush,” Kehler said. “Then from an offensive standpoint, really creating traffic around the net and getting pucks through, which not only helps our offence and our scorers but it’s going to help our goaltenders fight through that traffic as well.”

As for making it to the playoffs, the Broncos remain optimistic.

“To be honest, I think that you have to think you’re going to make it to the playoffs, you can’t have a negative attitude about anything,” Stickland said. “If you think positively, you think, ‘Yeah, we’re making the playoffs.’ If we keep working, we’re going to win games and it’s going to happen for us.”