broncos 2014

The Edmonton Oil Kings proved why they are defending Memorial Cup champions with a 5-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos on Friday night.

"It's a very good lesson for our group," said Broncos Associate Coach Josh Dixon. "For our group to see where that bar is at is certainly a good lesson to learn early on."

Dixon noted some of those lessons include consistency and commitment to the game plan.

"The mentality to compete and play the game to the level Edmonton plays at," "Edmonton is extremely detailed, they're extremely hard working, they win one on one battles... they know how to win, they make sure they stick with their systems. They have four lines and six defenceman that all play the same way."

Swift Current had issues with turnovers even in their convincing wins over Moose Jaw during the opening weekend. It's an area of concern for the coaching staff and Edmonton took advantage on Friday.

"We turned the puck over far too often," Dixon said. "Anytime you lose you can't lose the lesson... our decision making with the puck and our transition game has to get better."

Coda Gordon scored the lone Swift Current goal and hit a post on another. The veteran forward felt like his club maybe got ahead of themselves after a good start to the season.

"I think it got to our heads a bit that we are a little better than we actually are right now," Gordon said. "It takes a lot more than how we played out there."

"We weren't ready for the game."

The clubs were actually tied at 1 after the first period, but Edmonton pulled away with a strong attack to start the second period. They added insurance in the third putting the game out of reach.

Landon Bow made 36 saves on 40 shots for Swift Current before he was pulled midway through the third peiod and Travis Child stopped 3 of the 4 he faced.

Brett Pollock and Lane Bauer each had a goal and an assist for Edmonton as they move to 2-0 and Swift Current falls to 2-1.

Now the Broncos have to bounce back against a very skilled Brandon squad who have started the season 3-0.

"Probably an even tougher game than tonight," Gordon said. "They've got a lot of skill, they're really deep... they know how to place off the rush. That's going to be our biggest key is controlling the rush... especially the turnovers."

Defenceman Dillon Heatherington is expected to rejoin the Broncos on Saturday  night after being re-assigned by Columbus of the NHL. You can hear the game on The Eagle 94.1 FM at 6:30pm with the puck drop 7:05pm from the Credit Union iPlex.