Swift Current Broncos

The Swift Current Broncos are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. Founded during 1967 in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, the Broncos played seven seasons before relocating to Lethbridge from 1974 to 1986 as the Lethbridge Broncos. The Broncos then returned to Swift Current, and have played there since 1986, at the Credit Union iPlex.
==History==
The Broncos started out as the Swift Current Broncos in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, but moved to Lethbridge in 1974. The team had been losing money in tiny Swift Current and the new Lethbridge Sportsplex was beckoning for a team. The Broncos played in Lethbridge for twelve seasons, winning the President's Cup in 1982–83. In the mid 1980s, the team came up for sale, and despite a large and loyal fanbase in Lethbridge, the Broncos were bought by local interests in Swift Current and moved back to their original home. The Lethbridge Hurricanes moved in to replace the Broncos in southern Alberta.
The team won its only Memorial Cup championship two years later at the 1989 Memorial Cup. In the 1993 Memorial Cup, the Broncos were eliminated in a tie-breaker. Afterwards, the team's only head coach Graham James resigned to coach the Calgary Hitmen, but three seasons later, allegations arose that he sexually abused former player Sheldon Kennedy during their days together with the Broncos. James was convicted of sexual offenses and sentenced to three years in prison.
The Broncos play their home games at the Credit Union iPlex.
==1986 Team Bus Crash==
On December 30, 1986, the Broncos' bus crashed on the way to a game in Regina. Four players: Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff (younger brother of then-player and current Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff) were killed. Their jersey numbers were retired by the team afterwards, and the team still wears a commemorative patch in remembrance of the four players. The rest of the team, led by future NHL star Joe Sakic, who recorded 60 goals, played out the season despite the loss. In a move to memorialize the fallen players, the WHL now awards the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy to the League's Player of the Year.
In 2013, Tri-Light Entertainment secured the rights to produce a feature film adaptation of the book Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos.http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/swift-current-broncos-bus-crash-movie/
==Season-by-season record==
===First Broncos (1967–74)===
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Season 	GP	W 	L 	T	GF 	GA 	Points	Finish 	Playoffs
1967–68	60	16	38	6	242	343	38 	9th Overall	Out of playoffs
1968–69	60	14	44	2	186	329	30 	4th West 	Lost quarter-final
1969–70	60	27	31	2	240	265	56 	3rd West 	Lost quarter-final
1970–71	66	24	40	2	229	290	50 	4th West 	Lost quarter-final
1971–72	68	25	42	1	242	311	51 	5th East 	Out of playoffs
1972–73	68	27	35	6	300	359	60 	5th East 	Out of playoffs
1973–74	68	35	24	9	240	306	79 	3rd East 	Lost semi-final
===Second Broncos (1986-present)===
Season 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OL	GF 	GA 	Pnts	Finish 	Playoffs
1986–87 	72	28	40	4 	- 	331	393	60 	6th East 	Lost East quarter-final
1987–88 	72	44	26	2 	- 	388	312	90 	4th East 	Lost East semi-final
1988–89 	72	55	16	1 	- 	447	319	111 	1st East 	Won championship and Memorial Cup
1989–90 	72	29	39	4 	- 	323	351	62 	6th East 	Lost in first round
1990–91 	72	40	29	3 	- 	369	351	83 	3rd East 	Lost in first round
1991–92 	72	35	33	4 	- 	296	313	74 	5th East 	Lost East semi-final
1992–93 	72	49	21	2 	- 	384	267	100 	1st East 	Won championship
1993–94 	72	35	33	4 	- 	284	258	74 	4th East 	Lost East semi-final
1994–95 	72	31	34	7 	- 	274	284	69 	6th East 	Lost in first round
1995–96 	72	36	31	5 	- 	285	271	77 	1st Central	Lost in first round
1996–97 	72	44	23	5 	- 	336	243	93 	2nd East 	Lost Eastern Conference semi-final
1997–98 	72	44	19	9 	- 	276	220	97 	2nd East 	Lost Eastern Conference semi-final
1998–99 	72	34	32	6 	- 	232	211	74 	4th East 	Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final
1999–2000	72	47	18	4 	3 	257	170	101 	1st East 	Lost Eastern Conference semi-final
2000–01 	72	43	20	7 	2 	275	215	95 	1st East 	Lost Eastern Conference final
2001–02 	72	42	17	6 	7 	274	218	97 	2nd Central	Lost Eastern Conference semi-final
2002–03 	72	38	24	7 	3 	240	215	86 	2nd Central	Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2003–04 	72	36	29	7 	0 	234	209	79 	4th Central	Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2004–05 	72	22	41	6 	3 	135	218	53 	5th Central	Out of playoffs
Season 	GP	W 	L 	OL	SL	GF 	GA 	Pts 	Finish 	Playoffs
2005–06 	72	24	34	6 	8 	175	242	62 	4th Central	Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2006–07 	72	33	36	1 	2 	199	241	69 	3rd East 	Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2007–08 	72	41	24	1 	6 	244	205	89 	3rd East 	Lost Eastern Conference semi-final
2008–09 	72	42	28	1 	1 	258	220	86 	3rd East 	Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2009–10 	72	37	30	1 	4 	231	232	79 	3rd East 	Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2010–11 	72	26	44	0 	2 	181	260	54 	6th East 	Out of playoffs
2011–12 	72	27	37	2 	6 	216	272	62 	5th East 	Out of playoffs
2012–13 	72	36	29	3 	4 	206	193	79 	3rd East 	Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2013–14 	72	38	25	3 	6 	248	229	85 	2nd East 	Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2014–15 	72	34	33	1 	4 	221	245	73 	3rd East 	Lost Eastern Conference quarter-final
2015–16 	72	24	38	7 	3 	189	249	58 	5th East 	Out of playoffs
2016–17 	72	39	23	4 	6 	247	239	88 	3rd East 	Lost Eastern Conference semi-final
2017–18 	72	48	17	5 	2 	284	213	103 	2nd East 	Won championshipEliminated in 2018 Memorial Cup round robin
2018–19 	68	11	51	4 	2 	135	301	28 	6th East 	Out of Playoffs
2019–20 	63	13	48	2 	3 	129	298	25 	6th East 	Playoffs Cancelled
2020-21 	24	6 	16	2 	0 	72 	108	14 	7th East 	Playoffs Cancelled
2021–22 	68	26	35	5 	2 	181	246	59 	4th Central	Out of playoffs
2022–23 	68	31	33	1 	3 	227	242	66 	5th Central	Out of playoffs
2023–24 	68	40	22	4 	2 	286	239	86 	1st Central	Lost Eastern Conference semifinal
==WHL Championship history==
*1988-89: Win, 4-0 vs Portland
*1992-93: Win, 4-3 vs Portland
*2017-18: Win, 4-2 vs Everett
==Team records==
Team records for a single season	Team records for a single season	Team records for a single season
Statistic 	Total 	Season
Most points 	111 	1988–89
Most wins 	55 	1988–89
Most goals for 	447 	1988–89
Least goals for 	135 	2004–05
Least goals against 	170 	1999–2000
Most goals against 	393 	1986–87
==NHL alumni==
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*Blair Atcheynum
*Warren Babe
*Ryan Bast
*Ken Baumgartner
*Rollie Boutin
*Willie Brossart
*Jakub Cutta
*Kimbi Daniels
*Ron Delorme
*Ed Dyck
*Gary Emmons
*Dallas Gaume
*Larry Giroux
*Josh Green
*Ian Herbers
*Chris Herperger
*Shane Hnidy
*Milan Hnilicka
*Bill Hogaboam
*Earl Ingarfield Jr.
*Jason Jaffray
*Trent Kaese
*Sheldon Kennedy
*Ladislav Kohn
*Don Kozak
*Dan Lambert
*Lane Lambert
*Brad Larsen
*Jim Leavins
*Dean Malkoc
*Dean McAmmond
*Trent McCleary
*Ryan McGill
*Todd McLellan
*Jim McTaggart
*Craig Millar
*John Negrin
*Lawrence Nycholat
*Jaroslav Obsut
*Bill Oleschuk
*Ben Ondrus
*Colton Orr
*Ed Patterson
*Kelly Pratt
*Pokey Reddick
*Jeremy Reich
*Michal Rozsival
*Terry Ruskowski
*Joe Sakic
*Geoff Sanderson
*Andy Schneider
*Dave Schultz
*Cam Severson
*Trevor Sim
*Nathan Smith
*Zack Smith
*Brent Sopel
*Rocky Thompson
*Ryan Tobler
*Bryan Trottier
*Layne Ulmer
*Sergei Varlamov
*Ian White
*Bob Wilkie
*Jeremy Williams
*Tiger Williams
*Dody Wood
*Tyler Wright
*Joe Zanussi
==Retired numbers==
Those four players died in a road accident involving the team's bus on December 30th 1986.
*8 Scott Krueger
*9 Brent Ruff
*11 Chris Mantyka
*22 Trent Kresse
==References==
Category:Canadian ice hockey teams
Category:Western Hockey League (junior) team
Category:Swift Current Broncos
Category:Established in 1967