The Flin Flon Bombers kick off their semi-final series against the Battlefords North Stars tonight in North Battleford.
The Bombers enter the series having won four of six games against the North Stars in the regular season.
However, Battlefords’ wins came in the final two games of the season series, and they were anything but close: a 9-1 effort, with hat tricks from Igor Leonenko and Jake McMillen, and a 5-2 victory.
Flin Flon upset one of the better teams in the SJHL in the opening round. After going down 1-0 to the Viterra Division champions, the Weyburn Red Wings, the Bombers were able to take four straight victories against one of the best netminders in the league, Jack Burgart.
It was a series fueled with animosity, leading to a Sportscentre debut after Weyburn’s Tucker Neuberger stole the cherished Flin Flon moose leg. A brawl ensued, and suspensions were handed out.
On the other side, the North Stars were able to overcome one of the hottest goalies in the playoffs, Nathan Hargrave. The highest-scoring offence in the SJHL showed why they were crowned regular season champions, outscoring Kindersley 18-13 in the quarter-finals.
The production came from familiar faces. Igor Leonenko, Layne Young and Coby Downs provided the bark of the offence, scoring 14 of the 18 goals. Leonenko and Young provided five, while Downs, who has recently been named rookie of the week, had four.
Certainly the North Stars will be looking for more production from the supporting cast, while having a more even-balanced approach.
Flin Flon is another team that has had a top-heavy offence, not only during the playoffs, but over the course of the regular season.
Alex Smith, Brandon Switzer and Joel Kocur make up the top line for the Bombers, and they were first, second and third in team scoring.
Switzer tallied 75 points (32G, 43A), Kocur had 71 (34G, 37A) and Smith was one of the most prolific players in the SJHL, gathering 84 points (32G, 52A) while finishing third in league scoring. In six games against the North Stars, the Switzer-Kocur-Smith line combined for 29 points.
Considering that Flin Flon’s fourth-place scorer, Jason Lavallee, had 33 points – albeit in 39 games, a pace that would have earned him 49 points in a full season – shutting down the top line will be a priority for Battlefords.
There are still some key injuries for the North Stars, but they are closer to getting back on the ice each day. McMillen will be missed, as he had the Bombers’ number throughout the regular season, posting 10 points (5G, 5A) in the six-game series.
Flin Flon will be without defenceman Joseph Leonidas and Brandon Masson, and forward Brandon Lesko. Each of them still owes one game on the two-game suspensions they received for the moose-leg-inspired melee that broke out after Game 4 of the Weyburn series.
Battlefords’ success on the man advantage has yet to carry over from the regular season, but that may have been a result of running into a strong goaltender in the Kindersley series.
Like the North Stars, the Bombers had trouble on the man advantage in the quarterfinals. Converting just 15.8 per cent, scoring three goals on 19 attempts, they will be in tough against a Battlefords penalty kill that had a solid opening round containing Austin Calladine, Dexter Bricker and Daniell Lange.
Anchoring the crease will be Tyler Fuhr for Battlefords, and, surprisingly, Brenden Newton for Flin Flon.
Fuhr made the saves he had to make throughout the Kindersley series, and was instrumental in his team’s Game 5 victory, sealing the series with a 27-save performance. Fuhr finished the first round with a 2.42 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.
Across the ice, Newton relieved starter Zac Robidoux partway through Game 1. Since acquiring the starting job, the rookie netminder has not looked back, putting up incredible numbers.
Through the opening series against Weyburn, Newton posted a 1.32 goals-against average, a shutout and an astronomical .964 save percentage, all while remaining undefeated (minus a Game 1 loss in which he allowed one of four goals against Flin Flon).
Newton will have to come up big against a team that had over 40 shots in four of five games against the Klippers.
The series will no doubt be a physical battle. There were 239 penalty minutes dished out between these teams, and a whopping 17 game misconducts in the final two games. Coupled with elite goal scorers and quality goaltending on both sides, this series has everything a hockey fan wants to see. Tonight’s opening face-off can’t come soon enough.
Games 1 and 2 are tonight, Friday, and tomorrow, Saturday in North Battleford. Games 3 and 4 will be this Tuesday, April 5 and Wednesday, April 6 at the Whitney Forum.
Mustangs-Hawks
In the SJHL’s other semi-final series, the Melfort Mustangs square off against the Nipawin Hawks. Game 1 goes tonight, Friday, in Melfort.
Just six points separated these clubs in the regular season. Melfort finished with 83 points (39-14-3-2), good for second in the league. Nipawin had 77 points (36-17-3-2) to earn fourth place.
Melfort and Nipawin faced each other eight times in the regular season. The ’Stangs took the season series 5-3.
Both teams ended the regular season strong, with Melfort going 9-1-0-0 and Nipawin going 7-1-1-1.
– With files from Jonathon Naylor
