The Bombers brought the brooms with them to Melville Friday night, beating the Millionaires 5-2 to sweep the regular season series.
The Bombers got on the board in the opening minutes of the period, with rookie Dawson Karol taking a quick feed from Ethan Mercer, cruising through the neutral zone, beating the defender to the outside and beating Mils starter Clement Labillois for his first-ever goal and point as a Bomber. The goal, coming three minutes in, sucked the life out of an already quiet Horizon Credit Union Centre crowd and gave Flin Flon early momentum.
Once wouldn't be enough for Karol, either - four minutes later, the rookie would get on the board again, deflecting a point shot by Cole Tanchuk and knocking it past Labillois. Melville would build momentum up later in the frame, eventually outshooting Flin Flon 17-13 in the first, but thanks to Karol's touch, Flin Flon had a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
The start of the second period was delayed for 45 minutes due to a problem with the ice in the Millionaires' crease. Both teams went to their benches before eventually going back to the dressing room, waiting it out, then coming back out later, only to see further delays as the issue with the ice persisted. After blasting the area with liquid nitrogen, the ice was fixed and the game resumed.
With an early four-minute Bomber penalty, the Mils thought they had scored their first of the game, but the goal was waved off - Noah Wills knocked down a point shot that would eventually be banged home by a Melville player, but Wills did so with a high stick.
More chances for the hosts would come later in the powerplay, with Melville finally getting on the board through a familiar face. Ethan Anstey, an ex-Bomber forward who was dealt to Melville three weeks ago, scored against his former team to cut the lead in half. After another Bomber penalty, Anstey would come back to haunt the Bombers again, scoring another goal moments later to tie the game at twos.
In one period for Melville, Anstey scored more goals than he did in 43 games as a Bomber.
The tie would last only for a few minutes, as Jacob Vockler and Alexi Sylvestre would get past the Millionaires' defence on a rush. Vockler fed Sylvestre in the slot and the Chateauguay, Quebec native made no mistake, poking the puck past Labillois - 3-2 Bombers.
Late in the period, Jeremi Tremblay continued his recent run of dominance, putting in his 14th goal of the year - 10 of which have come on powerplays - on the rebound of a Jaeden Mercier powerplay point shot. Despite relying heavily on goalie Kenneth Marquart at times, the Bombers would take a 4-2 lead into the third.
The third period saw Melville get plenty of chances, including a breakaway for Cooper Chisholm, which Marquart stopped dead in its tracks. Later in the period, Karol got an opportunity to get a third goal on the night, but was hauled down by a Mils defender and crashed into the net at high speed. No penalty was assessed to Melville.
Later in the frame, with Alex Von Sprecken in the Bomber box, the Millionaires pulled Labillois to get a 6-on-4 late. That would end with chances galore for both teams - Vockler missed the empty net twice, hitting the post before missing the net moments later. Two Melville players had late chances go away due to unlucky stick breaks.
Cole Duperreault would finally make it elementary with an empty net goal with 32 seconds left on the clock, making it 5-2 Bombers and clinching the season sweep. A late fracas between Anstey and Tanchuk would break out with 10 seconds to go, with Tanchuk scoring more shots - and shortly after, the Bombers scoring win number 17 this year.
The win means the Bombers have won all five of the scheduled games between them and the Millionaires this year, beating them 5-4 at the Showcase Sept. 27, 7-2 Oct. 11, 4-2 Oct. 28 and 5-4 Oct. 29.
Marquart, playing his first game in over a month, made 46 saves on 48 shots for the Bombers, while Labillois stopped 36 Bomber shots on the evening.
Flin Flon will continue a short two-game southern road trip Saturday night with an outing with the Yorkton Terriers.
