Members of the Meadow Lake Senior Broncos pose for a team photo during the Sask-Alta Hockey League season. (Image Credit: Meadow Lake Senior Broncos)

By Kenneth Cheung

2025-26 season

‘The future looks bright’: Broncos’ dominant season ends early with Game 5 loss to Pontiacs

Mar 23, 2026 | 2:34 PM

In the end, they ran out of time.

After going 15-1 in the regular season and collecting 30 points, the Meadow Lake Senior Broncos saw their year come to a close in the opening round of the playoffs, falling 4-1 in their series against the Bonnyville Sr. Pontiacs. 

A 6-4 loss in Game 5 sealed it.

“We had probably our worst start to the game of the season,” head coach Winston Morin said. “We ended up, we were down 5-1 after the first period… we left too much to do. In the end, we couldn’t make up for that first period.”

That early deficit wasn’t new.

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“We had slow starts all through the series,” captain Logan Pethick said. “We just didn’t show up right from the start of the game to play, and we got ourselves in a hole… we just couldn’t get out of it.”

The Broncos pushed back late in Game 5, but the damage had already been done.

Morin didn’t deflect.

“It’s the coach’s job to get them ready to play. And I didn’t do a very good job,” he said.

It stood in sharp contrast to what had been one of the most dominant seasons the team has put together.

“We only lost one game all regular season,” Pethick said. “This was the best regular season we’ve ever had.”

Forward Ashton McIntyre led the offence with 33 goals and 42 assists for 75 points in 27 games, finishing second in league scoring and just one goal shy of the top spot. 

In goal, Jared Lafond and Dylan Twidale provided a steady backbone, both posting save percentages above .900, with Twidale leading the league at .941.

That combination helped Meadow Lake control games throughout the regular season, rarely trailing and dictating pace.

Even in their final game, that identity showed through after the opening period.

“The boys got it going,” Morin said. “I think from then on… we outscored them and outplayed them in the last two periods, but we left too much to do.”

What didn’t waver was the group itself.

“The team stuck together,” Morin said. “Even when things got bad at the end, we were still trying.”

That connection extended beyond the ice.

“I felt this year our team was pretty close all around,” Pethick said. “We all kind of hung out after practices and after games… I thought we were all pretty good, pretty close that way.”

The atmosphere around the team grew with it, as crowds filled the rink and brought energy into key moments late in the season.

“The crowd and the fans in Meadow Lake… made us come back and play the last two periods of the season, [we] were as strong as we had played all year,” Morin said.

“It’s awesome. … Like it’s way better playing in front of a full rink than no one,” Pethick said with a laugh. 

Now, the focus turns forward.

“I think most of them will be coming back… the future looks bright for the Broncos going forward,” Morin said.

For Pethick, the goal is simple.

“We hope to be in the finals again next year, and next year hopefully we have a better outcome and we win this thing.”

The Broncos compete in the Sask-Alta Hockey League, which features teams from nine communities, including Lashburn, Vermilion, Alta., and Elk Point, Alta.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com