The first-round playoff schedule for the Flin Flon Bombers has been set.
The Bombers will face the number 10 seed Weyburn Red Wings in the first round, facing off for game one in Weyburn on Friday. Game two will be held in Flin Flon on Sunday, March 10, with game three, if necessary, set for Monday, March 11 at the Whitney Forum.
In four meetings this season, the Bombers have won all four games by a combined 21-10 margin of victories. The Bombers finished the season with 72 points, 30 more than Weyburn’s 42.
The series will mark a homecoming for sorts for two players who swapped teams between the Bombers and Red Wings this season. Flin Flon forward Cade Kowalski was acquired at the SJHL trade deadline for a package that included former Bomber Dawson McKenzie.
Since the trade, Kowalski has racked up 27 points in 21 games with the Bombers, finishing the SJHL season with 66 points and 22 goals. Kowalski is set to play with the NCAA’s Ferris State Bulldogs next season. McKenzie has 17 points in 21 regular season games in Weyburn. McKenzie played eight playoff games with the Bombers last season, not recording a point.
If the Bombers beat the Red Wings, they would go on to face the second-place Battlefords North Stars in the second round of the SJHL playoffs. The Bombers faced the Stars four times this season, with the Bombers losing the first game on Nov. 16 and going on to win the three remaining matchups.
The Bombers may have to face the Red Wings for at least one game without one of their top defencemen. Calvon Boots may face a suspension after a hit on Melfort Mustangs forward and newly minted SJHL Player of the Year Carson Albrecht during the two teams’ March 5 game. Albrecht was injured on the hit, left the game and did not return. No suspension has been officially announced by the SJHL.
