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Brycen Martin (Photo by Darwin Knelsen)

With Julius Honka at World Juniors and Dillon Heatherington injured, Swift Current Broncos sophomore defencemen Brycen Martin and Brett Lernout have had to take the majority of the big minutes on their blue line this week.

Heatherington was hurt on Friday against Moose Jaw taking both parts of Swift Current's usual top pairing out of their lineup.

Martin is enjoying the challenge.

"With Honka gone there is a lot more responsibility put on me," he said. "I have to step up and play bigger minutes than I have all year."

"It makes me play better knowing that I have that responsibility, knowing I'm the go to guy and I have to be there for every minute that I'm out there."

Martin has 5 points and is a +7 in 9 games this month, while Lernout had a goal and an assist in the win over Moose Jaw on Saturday.

"They really took advantage of an opportunity," said Broncos Coach/GM Mark Lamb. "They're playing the best hockey of their careers right now."

"Other guys can use those guys as examples... if you do that you can make a name for yourself."

They will again have to carry the load on Wednesday in Saskatoon as Honka will still be away and Heatherington isn't yet expected back. That also puts more responsibility on the likes of Bobby Zinkan and Stephen Shmoorkoff who were asked to do more in the games against Moose Jaw.

"It's a chance for the guys who don't play as much to show their talents and show why they're here," Martin said. "I definitely need to lead the charge because I play big minutes and I have a big responisiblity on this team."

Swift Current hopes to have forwards Coda Gordon and Graham Black back from injury and illness respectively when they take on Saskatoon.

The Broncos visit the Blades for a 2pm game on January 1rst. You can hear the game on The Eagle 94.1 FM starting with our pre-game show at 1:30pm.

Honka and Team Finland beat Russia 4-1 on Monday at the World Junior Championship, while Canada came from down 3-1 to beat Slovakia. Finland is 2-1 in the tournament. Canada is 2-0-1.