Broncos Raiders 2013
photo from scbroncos.com

East Division rivals face off again tonight as the Swift Current Broncos host the Prince Albert Raiders.

The Broncos are hoping to extend their slim division lead, while the Raiders have lost five straight games and are trying to find their footing again.

"They've got a real good team and they've got lots of scoring power," said Broncos Associate Coach Darren Evjen. "Every team kind of goes up and down. They've lost a few games here, but on the same token they're going to come in hungry. They want to win. They're not out of the playoffs and they know they have to put some wins together."

The Raiders were considered by many pundits the East Division favourites at the start of the season and were close to that spot until a seven game losing streak before Christmas and the recent five game skid.

"You don't expect anything in this league but teams to come in and play hard and play well," Evjen said. "This time of year it's starting to pick up. You can see the intensity, the structure, the playmaking... it's getting better and it's getting quicker. It's just very important that we're ready to go and we've got to answer the bell. We've got to stay on top here and keep playing well."

The Broncos came back from down 3-1 late to beat Brandon 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday. The win pushed them a point ahead of the Wheat Kings for top spot in the division.

Swift Current is 4-1 against the Raiders this season including a 7-0 win in Prince Albert last Sunday.

"Their offence is really good and they can pull a game together at any time," said Broncos forward Coda Gordon. "We've been doing pretty good against them so we've just got to stay to our game plan and build off this streak we're making."

You can hear our broadcast of Pioneer Co-op Home Centre Broncos Hockey on The Eagle 94.1 FM at 6:30pm.

The Wheat Kings are off tonight, while Regina is home to the Prince George Cougars. Swift Current then visits Saskatoon on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Broncos defenceman Brycen Martin and Julius Honka both made TSN's top 50 for the midtern NHL draft rankings.

Honka came in at 18th and Martin was ranked 43rd.