Saskatoon struck three times on the power play as the recent defensive woes continued for the Swift Current Broncos in a 6-3 loss to the Blades.

“A lot of disappointing things in the game today,” said Broncos assistant coach Jamie Heward. “We've got to find a way to regroup and learn from this.”

Jesse Shynkaruk scored twice in the first period on the power play and the Blades eventually built up a 4-1 lead before the Broncos started to push back.

Second period goals by Dom Schmiemann, Tyler Steenbergen and Aleksi Heponiemi got Swift Current back to within striking distance, but they could never draw even before the Blades pulled away in the third.

Heponiemi had a goal and two assists for Swift Current in what was a six point weekend for him.

Swift Current was coming off a tough 6-5 loss to Regina the night before and had to then travel to Saskatoon for an early afternoon game the next day against a rested Blades squad.

“It's an unfortunate schedule,” Heward said. “I'm not sure how the WHL can allow a game with such a short turnaround. We play an emotional game last night and have to be here for a 2pm game. That's an interesting decision, but I thought our guys battled for the most part. We've just got to find a way to be smarter at times when we don't have our legs.”

Defensive play has been an issue for the Broncos as of late. They allowed six goals in both losses this weekend and have allowed an average of 5.3 goals per game while they have lost five of their last six games.

The Broncos now have a full week off to get back on track before hosting Prince Albert on Sunday.

“We just have to figure out how to get back to playing team defence,” Heward said. “When you're allowing 5-6 goals a night it's not just one thing. We've got some issues we have to address over the next week. We'll get some time off, get the guys re-energized, have some real high intensity practices and get back to doing what we were doing.”

The Broncos only have two wins and a shootout loss in the seven games since their significant moves at the trade deadline. The week off could allow for some time to work on chemistry and help acclimatize their new players to Broncos hockey.

“There seems to be a lot of questions on things we've covered and things we were good at,” Heward said. “Guys seem to be hesitant to do certain things. We've just got to find a way as a group to realize playing the right way is going to get you an opportunity to win.”

Taz Burman made 20 saves on the 25 shots he faced against the Blades. Brock Hamm stopped 28 of the 31 Broncos shots he saw in earning the win.

Ryan Graham left the game in the first period with what appeared to be a lower body injury.

Quick video recap of today's loss in Saskatoon. Broncos are off now for a week. pic.twitter.com/hsHfw2i7pf

— Shawn Mullin (@shawnmullin) January 22, 2017