Jordan Papirny made 34 saves as the Swift Current Broncos battled for a 2-1 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors in game five of their first round series.

Lane Pederson's two goals helped the Broncos take a 3-2 lead in the series with a chance to close it out in game six on Saturday night at the Credit Union iPlex.

"It was nice," Pederson said. "Two great plays by (Ryley Lindren and Riley Stotts) so goals are nice but the victory is what we're here for."



Riley Stotts set Pederson up for the 1-0 goal early in the second period on a nice rush from his own zone. It was a big goal after the Broncos had a strong first period with 15 shots and several big scoring chances.

"Starts are huge on the road," Pederson said. "I think tonight we came out and knew they were going to press in their home rink. We had a pretty strong first period and built on that."

Pederson then struck again in the middle of the period when Kole Gable got the puck deep and Ryley Lindgren won a race behind the net to set the goal up.

"I think I put that pressure on myself to help produce offence every night," Pederson said. "Throughout the series you can see it's been a different guy every night and we need that to continue."



Brett Howden converted one of Moose Jaw's six power plays on the night by deflecting in a Matt Sozanski shot late in the period to put some pressure on the Broncos in the third.

Papirny stopped 26 shots in the last two periods as the Warriors pushed hard for the equalizer.

"There wasn't a lot between the two teams tonight," sadi Broncos associate coach Ryan Smith. "Both goaliers were outstanding when called upon. We were fortunate enought to get a couple in the second period and then hold on until the end. That's playoff hockey."



Swift Current has scored first in all five games of the series.

The Broncos are expecting a very desperate Warriors club with their season on the line, while Moose Jaw wants to build on some things they did in game five.

“If we play like that tomorrow night in Swift Current, we'll be fine,” said Warriors head coach Tim Hunter. “We've won a game in there, they've won two in here and now we need to win another one in their rink, simple as that, and I know we're capable of doing it.

“We've got a lot of skill and a lot of will too, (Zach Sawchenko) played great and we've just got to find a way to sneak a few more pucks past their goalie.”

We will have the game six broadcast live on The Eagle 94.1 FM with Robertson Family Group Broncos Hockey at 6:30pm. Puck drop is just after 7pm at the Credit Union iPlex.

Click here for the story from Discover Moose Jaw

EDIT: The Broncos have announced that tickets for game six are now sold out