The Bombers got back in the win column Wednesday, giving Nipawin a 4-1 hiding.
Flin Flon won their first game post-trade deadline and got contributions from new and familiar faces alike.
The Bombers played their first game with five new players in the lineup, each of which were acquired before the CJHL trade deadline Jan. 10 - defencemen Anthony Bax and Conor Ryan and forwards Jerome Gilbert, Keefe Gruener and Tyson Smith.
Smith opened the game with a prime chance, getting loose for a breakaway but being unable to convert. The Bombers would open the scoring not long after anyway, with Justin Lies sneaking through the zone and burying a backhand past Hawks netminder Damon Cunningham. Nipawin would get chances of their own later in the frame, but Flin Flon headed into the second with a 1-0 lead.
That lead was extended in the second thanks to pinpoint shots from the backend. First, Noah Houle got on the board after taking a drop pass from Lies and firing it past Cunningham, then Ryan got his first goal as a Bomber and his first-ever junior A goal, beating Cunningham with a filthy shot from 50 feet that clanged off the bar behind Cunningham and went in.
Other chances would keep on throughout the frame, including a second prime chance for Smith, as he and Carter Anderson nearly teamed up for a goal-of-the-year candidate, but Cunningham stood tall.
Nipawin killed off Bomber goalie Kenny Marquart's hopes of a shutout with a third-period goal, with Braeden Jockims getting a stick on a shot in front and deflecting it home, but the Bombers made sure it was never in doubt. On a powerplay, the Hawks defence left Jacob Vockler wide-open for a breakaway and the South Dakota native made sure they paid for it, going post-in on Cunningham. More chances came later, with a prime 2-on-1 opportunity by Vockler and Gilbert stopped in its tracks by Cunningham.
Things got testy later - Nipawin's Henry Smith was run over in a board battle in the third, leaving him on the ice and making tempers flare between the teams. Smith was taken to the bench with help, then later left the game and did not return. Later on, with just under a minute left, Marquart took exception to a Hawk player taking a hack at him after a whistle and a fracas ensued behind the net. Some passionate pushing and shoving and cross words later, the game continued and, despite some more shoving after the whistle, all players involved were good boys to finish things off.
Marquart got the win with 34 saves on the night, while Cunningham made 40 stops, including several highlight-reel ones that kept the Hawks close.
The win gets the Bombers back in the W column after eating their second regulation loss this season against Melfort Jan. 6. That victory means Flin Flon is the first SJHL team to crack 30 wins this season, sporting a 30-2-2-0 record and 62 points in total. The Bombers are seven points clear of second-place Battlefords and nine points ahead of third-place Melfort - the Stars have played two more games than the Bombers, while the Mustangs have played four more games.
The Bombers will play the Yorkton Terriers this weekend on Saturday and Sunday, with both games taking place at the Whitney Forum. The Sunday game will be a rare afternoon matinee, with puck drop taking place at 4 p.m.
