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Dillon Heatherington (2) and Jason Swyripa (14) chase the puck (Photo by Darwin Knelsen)

Overtime has continued to give the Swift Current Broncos fits early in the new WHL season.

They made their third trip to OT in four games and lost 5-4 to Brandon in a shoot out on Friday night. They've lost three times in extra time already this season.

Coaches Show Part One"We're collecting points which is very important in our league" said Broncos Assistant Coach Darren Evjen. "But we want to get 2 points not 1 point."

The Wheat Kings were the first team to strike against the Broncos in the first period so far this season. Ryley Miller opened the scoring with a shorthanded marker at 3:12. They then had a 5 on 3 and a double minor power play before Nick Buonassisi extended their lead to 2-0 at 10:49.

Graham Black and Ryan Pulock traded goals and Brandon had a 3-1 edge after the opening 20 minutes.

"When you're down like that you've got to get back as fast as possible," said Broncos forward Levi Bews. "We just went out there trying to get a power shift going."

Early in the second period the line of Bews, Chance Lund and Colby Cave did just that. Bews won a puck battle and centred a puck to Lund who used his 6'5 frame to fight off the Wheat Kings and give himself several opportunities before cutting Brandon's lead to 3-2. That same line then quickly drew a penalty and Swift Current took advantage with Dalton Reum's one-timer to tie the game at 3.

Coaches Show Part Two"We just knew if we could stay out of the box and start the game back we were going to come back," Evjen said. "We felt we were going to win the game and starting from the second period on that's how our players responded. They played hard, it was a hard fought game."

Swift Current earned their only lead of the contest early in the third when Bews batted a puck out of mid-air for his second of the season on the man advantage. It's an opportunity he was ready for.

"In practice I usually try and bat about twenty pucks in the net just in case that actually happens," Bews noted.

Buonassisi then took advantage of a neutral zone mistake by the Broncos to score his second of the game for the Wheat Kings and force overtime. The Broncos controlled the 4 on 4 and outshot Brandon 9-0 in those five minutes. After the first seven guys were denied, Eric Roy scored the only goal of the shootout to give Brandon their fourth consecutive victory to start the season.

"I think our execution in regular time is more key than anything," Lund said. "We've got to get pucks deeps and not have so many turnovers. That's what really killed us."

Curtis Honey made 37 saves to get the win for Brandon, while Eetu Laurikainen stopped 25 of 29 Wheat Kings shots.

The Broncos got Dillon Heatherington back after he missed Wednesday's game sick. They're still missing Reece Scarlett due to what isn't expected to be long-term injuries after he was hit from behind into the boards in Moose Jaw a week ago.

Swift Current wraps up a four-game homestand by hosting the Saskatoon Blades on Saturday night. You can listen live with The New Pioneer Co-op Broncos Hockey on The Eagle 94.1 FM at 6:30pm.

Full Game Highlights

Click here for the boxscore

Click here for the offical website recap

Click here for a preview of Saturday's game against Saskatoon