The Bombers are back in it. The team, playing its first home playoff game in over two years to a lively Whitney Forum crowd, won 4-2 Tuesday night over Battlefords.
Almost 1,000 fans came out to watch the Bombers and in the first period, the home team made sure they weren't disappointed. Brett Wieschorster opened the scoring with a rebound that beat Battlefords netminder Michael Harroch. While Wieschorster got a 10-minute misconduct after the goal, the Bombers went into the dressing room with a 1-0 lead, despite a back-and-forth 4-on-4 sequence with plenty of odd-man rushes.
Xavier Lapointe extended that lead with a power-play goal early in the second, but the Stars' offence woke up after. Steven Kesslering cut the Stars' deficit to one with a quick marker, then Holden Doell scored less than 30 seconds later to tie the game back up.
The Bombers were unperturbed. Rylan Thiessen scored cleanly on a shot from the point midway through the second - a goal that would stand as the game-winner.
In the third, the Bombers successfully killed off a four-minute penalty and ended it with more shots on offence than the Stars could muster with an extra player. Drew Kuzma would get on the board late in the third with a powerplay goal to seal the win and blow the roof off the Whitney Forum - though he, like Wieschorster before him, would get a misconduct penalty for his trouble after the score. The Stars would pull Harroch late, but the Bombers kept the puck pinned, killing the clock and clinching the W.
Cal Schell made 21 saves when called on for the Bombers, getting his first playoff win since March 11, 2020, while Harroch made 39 saves in a losing cause.
The win puts the Bombers back in the series, which the Stars now lead 2-1. Game 4 goes at the Whitney Forum Wednesday night.
All four SJHL first-round series are now at 2-1 through three games. The Estevan Bruins gained a lead in their series against Notre Dame with a 6-1 win, while La Ronge has pulled ahead in their series against second-seeded Humboldt. The Ice Wolves earned a 4-2 upset win at home Tuesday, giving them a 2-1 lead over the heavily favoured Broncos. Greg Nelson was the overtime hero for Yorkton, as they took on both a 2-1 win and series lead over Melfort.
