Jordan Papirny made 40 saves for the shutout as the Swift Current Broncos opened their first round playoff series with Moose Jaw beating the Warriors 2-0.

“I thought we just did a really good job keeping everything to the outside,” Papirny said. “It made my job easy. I don't know if there was 40 shots but there was a lot of blocked shots that made it really easy for me.”

The win guarantees Swift Current at least a split of the two games in Moose Jaw.

“You start on the road in the playoffs you want to get one of the two for sure,” said Broncos associate coach Ryan Smith. “Getting the first one is always great. I thought besides maybe 6-7 minutes in the third period we played a really solid game.”

It was a scoreless game until midway through the second period where Tyler Steenbergen cut off the wall and sent a puck on goal. It deflect off a Warriors defender and had just enough to beat Zach Sawchenko who made 31 saves in the Warriors goal.

“We're not looking for anything pretty,” Steenbergen said. “Getting that 1-0 lead and getting a greasy win out of it is what we expected. That's what we expect for the rest of the series.”

Swift Current had a slow start to the third period and dealt with lots of Warriors pressure in the first ten minutes of the period. As it went along they got back to their game and were able to battle hard enough to hold their lead.

“Really it was a hard fought game,” Smith said. “That was one of the faster paced games we had seen. Both teams were going, both teams had chances, I thought both goalies were outstanding... for us to get the first game was really important.”

Glenn Gawdin scored into the empty net late to guarantee the win.

The start was Papirny's first in six games as he had been out of the lineup sick. He didn't show any rust as he recorded the victory in his 50th career WHL playoff game.

“He was probably the top player in blue tonight,” Smith said. “The reason we went out and obtained him at the trade deadline is he's played a lot of playoff games like this. You could see his composure. For us to have a guy like that back there really helped us.”

Now the door is open for the Broncos to go up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series when they play game 2 in Moose Jaw on Saturday night.

“It's playoff hockey,” Papirny said. “The most important thing is to keep it simple. Especially playing on the road that's what we've got to do.”

The coaching staff will check the video and make any adjustments needed as they attempt to take early control of the series.

“I think in the playoffs you've got to focus on the next game,” Smith said. “You learn a little bit from the previous game and we'll work on some stuff getting ready for tomorrow. You know they're going to come real hard. They're a strong team.”

You can hear all the action on The Eagle 94.1 FM with Robertson Family Group Broncos Hockey at 6:30pm.