Aleksi Heponiemi scored twice and Jordan Papirny made 42 saves as the Swift Current Broncos beat the Medicine Hat Tigers 3-1.

“That's a huge win for us,” said Broncos captain Glenn Gawdin. “Especially for this weekend and for February. Our schedule is pretty hectic and we play a lot of good teams. We need these wins and especially against those guys that's a good statement game for us.”

Swift Current got off to a strong start and kept the pace up throughout the night. They put lots of pressure on the Tigers early that paid off in Heponiemi's two goals late in the first period.

“We wanted to play fast and play aggressive,” said Broncos assistant coach Jamie Heward. “Not get into a run and gun with them, but try to be in their face and take away their time and space. We had a really good first and second period that really set us up for a good third.”

Riley Stotts then scored an insurance goal for Swift Current in the second period on the rebound of an Artyom Minulin shot.

While the Tigers pushed back and got a lot of pucks on Papirny, the Broncos felt they played a strong two-way game.

“They got a lot of shots,” Heward said. “But at times we kept them to the outside and did a pretty good job. I just like the way our speed was. That's something we're going to have to find moving into the rest of the season and into playoffs.”

Swift Current has only allowed three even-strength goals in their last seven games as they completely turned around their play in their own zone. It was a big factor in holding off the Central Division leading Tigers.

“I think we just played solid,” Gawdin said. “D-zone is something we've really been working on. Just trying to take away their time and space, get on them and try not to let their big guys make plays.”

Medicine Hat was without six regulars from their lineup due to illness and injury. They still had six 20-goal scorers in their lineup and tested Papirny. The veteran netminder's recent play has clearly given his teammates some added confidence on the ice.

“Tons he's been a rock out there,” Gawdin said. “That's what he came here for. We are definitely enjoying him playing this well and we can hope he can finish the year like that. We're pretty comfortable that he will.”

Papirny is now 4-1-0-1 in his last six games with a 1.48 goals against average and 0.955 save percentage.

The win moved Swift Current to within five points of Moose Jaw for second place in the WHL East Division. They host the US Division leading Everett Silvertips on Saturday night.

“We have to be committed to play the right way,” Heward said. “They are very structured and very good at what they do. They will create turnovers out of nothing and they will block a ton of shots. For us it's just going to be about discipline, making sure we're playing the right way, being tidy with the puck and not making a lot of turnovers.”

You can hear Saturday's game 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.