In a stretch of three games in four days at the Elgar Petersen Arena, the Midget AA Broncos got off to a tough start Thursday, falling 2-0 to the Saskatoon Riverkings.

"We came out flat and weren't ready to play last night at all. We have a few injuries, but that is zero excuse for what happened last night," explained Head Coach Chris Hamilton on Friday morning. "We ended the game with a couple of veterans sitting on the bench, and those guys know what happened. They're huge leaders in the room and what happened last year. A little bit of a lesson learned and I expect a totally different game out of those individuals and the whole team Saturday night."

It was the second time this season that the Broncos failed to generate much against the Riverkings, falling 4-1 in their other contest on December 3.

The good news for the Broncos, is that they have an opportunity to quickly turn things back in their favour, with two games on Saturday and Sunday at the EPA.

Humboldt welcomes the last place Beardy's Blackhawks at 3:30pm, with the Saskatoon Sabercats coming in for a 2:00pm start time the next day.

Hamilton says that a stronger start to their games would go a long way in picking up two wins.

"Start out quick for once. This year we haven't really started out in the first period and those guys know we have to start out quick, get a couple goals and get playing the way we normally play."

Overall, with a large majority of the team playing Midget AA for the first time, or being first-year Midget players, Hamilton noted that the season has gone fairly well.

"It's pretty good. It's a learning curve and you want to be climbing the hill and eventually peak the hill at the end of playoffs," he said. "Right now, we're kind of right where we want to be. We're in the battle for a top four spot, which is what we wanted. After Christmas, it is going to be a stretch and a grind to come out in one of those spots and get in the playoffs."

The Broncos currently sit fifth overall with a record of 9-4, though they have multiple games in hand on all four teams ahead of them in the standings.

Having plenty of new players in the fold for 2016-17, Hamilton says it is the defensive side of the game that he has been most surprised and pleased with.

"The way we move the puck on the backend, and our goaltending. We have two solid goalies," he explained. "We didn't know what we were going to get, but we are a very strong defensive team and we just got to find a way to score a few more goals."

After the two weekend games, the Broncos host the top-seeded Warman Wildcats on December 22 before heading into the Christmas break.

Once the new year rolls around, Humboldt will play 12 more regular season games, with seven of those contests in front of the home crowd.

Hamilton added that as long as they keep progressing, they will be in it at the end.

"Finishing strong and keep getting up that hill. Keep learning every day and continuing from what we learned this year and hopefully we are there come playoff time."


You can hear more with Hamilton below.