Brayden Camrud played the hero for the Humboldt Broncos scoring the overtime winner as the Broncos won their Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League season, and home opener 3-2 over the Notre Dame Hounds.
The goal came at the right time for Camrud who had a number of excellent chances throughout the night, including a partial breakaway the shift before that saw him lose an edge and fall to the ice.
Camrud admitted there was some frustration building up after losing the edge, but noted getting the second breakaway opportunity on an excellent feed from Logan Schatz gave him a chance to wipe the slate clean.
“It just lit up my eyes and I knew I was putting it home.”
Like Camrud there were a number of slip ups for the Broncos over the course of the night, including numerous giveaways, which lead to both Hounds goals, and a power play that finished the night 1-for-8.
The Broncos opened the scoring in the first period as former Hound Kaleb Dahlgren banged home a Schatz feed on the power play at 15:11.
The Hounds needed less than three minutes to tie the game, as Chaz Smedsrud found the back of the net shorthanded, taking advantage of a poor Broncos giveaway at the Hounds blueline.
Olivier Lantagne scored his first of the season late in the second period, after another Broncos giveaway to grab a 2-1 lead heading into the second intermission.
Graysen Cameron scored his first career SJHL goal on a nifty feed from Matthieu Gomercic at 11:33 of the third period to tie the game, setting up the Camrud heroics in overtime.
Despite the Broncos not playing their best hockey, and being down 2-1 heading into the third period Camrud noted there was no panic among the players.
“We’ve got a good veteran group… nobody was really worried about it. The energy in the room was still high and everybody was keeping positive. Even the bench morale was just up and we knew we had what it took to come back in this game.”
Camrud admitted it was not the finest effort for the Broncos but said it felt good to pick up the win despite not playing their best.
“Obviously we didn’t want to have to give up one point to Notre Dame, them being in our division but just getting the win, it feels really good.”
Sam-Jaxon Visscher was solid in his first start as a Humboldt Bronco turning aside 21 of the 23 shots he faced, as the Broncos outshot the Hounds 27-23.
The Broncos have a chance to sweep the home-and-home series with the Hounds as they visit the Duncan McNeill Arena in Wilcox tonight (Sept. 17).
Heading into that contest Camrud notes it will be key for the Broncos to keep the game very simple and limit their turnovers, especially on the larger Olympic sized ice surface in Wilcox, and says work ethic will be key.
“We out chanced them, we outshot them so we bring the same work ethic and I think we’ll be able to take the two points.”
