Colby Sissons capped a late surge scoring with 28 seconds left in the third period as the Swift Current Broncos pushed back and fell short 2-1 to the Moose Jaw Warriors.

The goal by Sissons broke the shutout only a few minutes after he had hit a post in the first game of the WHL pre-season.

The annual rookie game generally features a younger lineup and the Broncos had only five players from last season's roster in the game.

It was also the first appearance behind Swift Current's bench by new coach Manny Viveiros.

"It was exciting," Viveiros said. "We had a lot of nervous kids before the game and I thought they responded really well."

The first period was fairly even as both clubs had their chances. Swift Current hit a bit of a wall in the second period.

"I thought we played really well in the first period," Viveiros noted. "Second period they came after us and we fell asleep a little bit. We got it back in the third period. I thought we played really well and had a chance to get back in the game."

Skilled Moose Jaw forward Luka Burzan opened the scoring early in the second with a quick snap shot through the five-hole on Broncos goaltender Bailey Brkin. Moose Jaw added to the lead only a few minutes later on a mad scramble around the net that Ryan Bowen was able to knock in.

The Warriors outshot the Broncos 14-5 in the period and had them on the ropes a few times.

Swift Current turned that tide in the third period especially in the later stages of the game as they ended up outshooting Moose Jaw 13-6 while pressing hard.

"As the game went on we just continued to keep skating," Viveiros said. "In the second we were standing still and in the third period we said we were going to go out and skate the whole period and we'll get back in the game through our energy. We created some really good opportunities from our speed."

The pressure eventually paid off in the goal by Sissons. 2016 first round bantam draft pick Logan Barlage and veteran defenceman Sahvan Khaira assisted on the play.

Viveiros wasn't looking for perfection from the Broncos yet.

"We have so little time to install our systems and our structure with these kids so tonight it was more about playing with energy and seeing how these kids react in different situations," Swift Current's new coach said. "For the most part they did a really good job."

Brkin finished with 18 saves on 20 shots in his half of the game. 16-year-old Joel Hofer stopped all 10 shots he faced.

Warrios netmidner Adam Evanoff made 27 saves to earn the win.

This was the first training camp for Viveiros as Head Coach and Director of Player Personnel. He enjoyed the process and the battle.

"The biggest thing was the compete level," Viveiros said. "The kids worked hard throughout the whole camp and that was very positive. Skill level you can always improve on that and we will always continue to improve on that, but overall I was happy with how camp went."

Now the Broncos head to Regina for three games in three days on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. 

"Everybody is going to get a chance to get a chance to play," Viveiros noted. "Fortunately we have seven more games so everybody will have a chance to see what they can do. We will make some more decisions after this weekend."