One of the most explosive goal scorers in the Canadian Hockey League delivered big in the clutch again.

Tyler Steenbergen scored a hat-trick leading the Swift Current Broncos to a 5-2 win over Regina in Game 5 of a tied first-round WHL playoff series.

"It was pretty great," Steenbergen said. "They came out pretty strong so we had to push back at the end of the first into the second. We did a good job at that and we gotta bring it again tomorrow."



In a season where Steenbergen has done some amazing things such as back-to-back four goal games and scoring the gold medal winning goal at World Juniors, this was still a night to remember for the Sylvan Lake Sniper.

"It's pretty special to do it here in front of a home crowd," Steenbergen said. "It's up there for sure. We want to end it tomorrow and hopefully I can bring that intensity tomorrow."

Game 5 didn't start the way Swift Current was hoping for. They took a couple of early penalties and Nick Henry converted a broken play for a 1-0 Regina lead. No team had been able to overcome giving up the first goal in the previous four games of the series.

The Broncos were outshot 15-3 through the first 15 minutes of the game before a Regina too many men penalty seemed to turn the tide. Steenbergen struck on the rebound of a blocked shot to cause the first 1-1 tie of the series.

"I thought we played a solid game and responded after they scored the first goal," said Broncos Associate Coach Ryan Smith. "It was important responding."



Swift Current kept pushing hard after that with a Glenn Gawdin power play goal in the final minute of the period to take a 2-1 lead.

The Broncos were handed another good opportunity early in the second period when Robbie Holmes put the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty. Steenbergen pulled a puck out of a scrum in the crease and ripped home his second of the night for a 3-1 lead.

Swift Current made it 4-1 on Sahvan Khaira's first of the playoffs after two terrific shifts in a row in the Regina zone. The line of Matteo Gennaro, Kaden Elder and Beck Malenstyn kept the Pats pinned in their own end before setting Khaira up and getting some traffic for him to shoot through.

They kept coming throughout the period and eventually pulled away with Steenbergen's hat-trick goal on a breakaway late in the period.

"The second period was our best five-on-five period of the series," Smith said. "We want to take a look at that and make sure the guys realize that's the way we want to play... we were close to the puck, we were around it and that gave us an opportunity to control more of the play than we have in previous games."

Regina got another Henry power play goal early in the third when Cameron Hebig's shot deflected in off of him. That gave the Pats some life and they pulled their goaltender for a 6 on 4 attack midway through the period to no avail. Cale Fleury did come close hitting his second post of the night on the attempted comeback.

Steenbergen added an assist to his goal for a four point night, while Gawdin and Aleksi Heponiemi each had three points for Swift Current's top line. The Broncos went 3 for 7 on the power play and have scored 9 of the 16 goals in the series on the man advantage.

Regina went 2 for 4 on their power play.

Stuart Skinner had another strong performance for the Broncos stopping 40 of 42 Regina shots to rebound from the 6-3 loss in Game 4, while Ryan Kubic made 28 saves for the Pats in a losing cause.

No team has won back-to-back games yet in the series, but the Broncos will have to if they want to avoid a Game 7 back in Swift Current on Monday. Game 6 is slated for Saturday night back at the Brandt Centre in Regina.

"I think we gotta come out strong," Steenbergen said. "After we've had a win we have come out a little too soft. I think we have to push right from the start and if we did that we'll be fine."

Either way Swift Current knows this series is far from over as they head on the road to Regina.

"I think we just defend like we did," Smith said. "They'll push for sure. They're going to come with everything they have. It's been a real close series so far so I wouldn't expect anything different... it's still anybody's series."

The Broncos got some good news before Game 5 with Artyom Minulin's return to the lineup from an undisclosed ailment. He played somewhat limited duty, but was effective when called upon. Meanwhile, Regina was without veteran defenceman Libor Hajek who had left the first period of Game 4 after a big hit from Josh Anderson before returning in the second and third periods that night. He didn't dress for Game 5 and was replaced the lineup by AP Parker Gavlas.

Regina is also still without goaltender Max Paddock and forward Jesse Gabrielle.

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