In a series that has been a back-and-forth affair so far it was Regina's turn to have control in Game 4.

The Pats came out of their offensive shell to beat Swift Current 6-3 and tie their first round best-of-seven series at two.

"I think the first two periods we didn't play well at all," said Broncos forward Tyler Steenbergen. "We came out in the third and pushed back, but I think it was already a little too late. We have to let go of this one pretty quickly and get ready for (Game 5) Friday."



Swift Current got off to a rough start as Jared Legien's early shot from the offensive blue line seemed to handcuff Broncos goaltender Stuart Skinner and catch the defenders off guard in a sign of what was to come in the first period. The Pats started getting pucks to the net quickly after that and pulled ahead 2-0 on goals by Cameron Hebig and Emil Oksanen.

"Pretty disappointed," said Broncos Associate Coach Ryan Smith. "Obviously the loss hurts and evens the series up, but we didn't like the way that our group came out from the start. It wasn't our best game. It wasn't how we wanted to play."



Swift Current did cut into the Regina lead on a Glenn Gawdin one-timer early in the second period, but Regina struck right back.

Legien ripped a quick snap shot over Skinner's glove, Libor Hajek followed that with a seeing-eye wrist shot through a very difficult screen and then Jake Leschyshyn took advantage of a Broncos defensive zone breakdown to build up a 5-1 Pats lead. The three additional goals in a 4:09 span of the second period spelled the end of the night for Skinner who allowed five goals on 20 Regina shots.

The Broncos weren't hanging the loss on the goaltender who had stopped 101 of the preivous 104 Pats shots in the series.

"We have to play how we did on Monday," Steenbergen said. "Blocking shots and boxing out the front of the net letting Stu see all the pucks. I think we did a pretty bad job at letting him see the puck. I think we were screening him ourselves. He's been fantastic and we know he's going to rebound come Friday."

Joel Hofer stopped all eight shots he saw in relief as he made his first WHL playoff appearance. Ryan Kubic stopped 26 of the 29 Swift Current shots, but 16 of them came in the third period with the Broncos already down by three.

The Broncos got additional power play goals from Steenbergen and Matteo Gennaro to close the gap and make it interesting down the stretch. Swift Current was 3 for 6 on the power play and generated almost all their offensive chances with the man advantage.

"The power play was the bright spot it scored all three goals," Smith said. "Even strength we were so far apart support wise. One player had the puck and there was nobody supporting him. We didn't create anything offensively five-on-five. A little bit in the third period, but it was too late. We need to be closer to the puck, we need to get more pucks on net early I mean we didn't have any shots in the first or the second. Effort needs to be there as well."

Leschyshyn then ended any chance of a late rally with an empty-net goal for the Pats.

Aleksi Heponiemi had three assists for the Broncos in a losing cause, while Steenbergen and Gawdin both had two point nights.

A series that many expected to go the distance will now take at least six games to decide with Game 5 set for Friday in Swift Current and Game 6 coming back to Regina on Saturday. Friday's game is sold out, but the Broncos are selling spots for a fan bus headed to Regina on Saturday.

Swift Current was still without veteran defenceman Artyom Minulin for Game 4. They've added defenceman Christian Reimer to their roster of affiliates for the playoff run and he was among the scratches tonight.

Regina didn't have forward Jesse Gabrielle in the lineup after he returned to play Game 3, but left in the third period. Goaltender Max Paddock has yet to dress in the series.