Game 3 had it all - frequent lead changes, big hits, an attempted moose leg theft and (most importantly) a big Bomber win.
A last minute goal by Brett Wieschorster gave the Bombers a 4-3 win and new life in the series.
Both teams came out hot early, but the Bombers would open the scoring midway through the first. Zak Smith snuck the puck past Estevan's Boston Bilous on the powerplay to give the Bombers their first lead of the series. That lead would stand up for the remainder of the period. A second shot beat Bilous later in the period, but didn't beat the crossbar, while Xavier Lapointe almost had another tally in the dying moments, only to be stopped by Bilous.
Estevan came out swinging in the second period, with Mark Rumsey tying the game up with a powerplay goal of his own. The Bruins would then take the lead moments later, with Olivier Pouliot capitalizing on a Flin Flon powerplay blunder, going top corner on Bomber netminder Cal Schell and tying the game with a shorthanded tally.
The Bombers would fall into penalty trouble after the goal taking two penalties in quick succession, but Drew Kuzma helped stop the slide, tying the game at two all with a water bottle popper that went clean past Bilous.
Jaeden Mercier would give the Bombers the lead with a high slot wrister that beat Bilous clean. Cal Schell would hold down the fort for the rest of the period, even getting through an eight-car pile-up in the crease that briefly took him down but not out.
Estevan would not go away quietly. Kade Runke picked the puck off a Matt Raymond turnover, turned around for the Bruins and got one by Schell to tie the game back up at threes midway through the third. The game got chippy late, with Jeremi Tremblay getting a late penalty for a hit to the head on Estevan's Kian Calder. The Bombers killed that penalty off, then with seconds left before even strength play, Runke took a tripping call on Gabriel Shipper right in front of the referee, putting the Bombers a man up late in a tied game.
It wouldn't stay tied for very long. After another pile in front of Bilous, Wieschorster found the puck through the chaos and beat Bilous, giving the Bombers the lead with less than a minute to go. Estevan would pull Bilous and go all hands on deck to tie the game back up, but the Bombers subdued the Bruins' zerg rush and played out the clock.
Schell got the win with a 31 save showing, while Bilous stopped 24 pucks on the night.
Controversy came after the final whistle when both teams got together for a small brawl in the corner. Once the dust started to settle, Estevan's Jamie Valentino skated to centre ice at the Forum and picked up the Bombers' moose leg, attempting to skate away with it.
That plan was quickly aborted when a pair of Bombers, Mason Kaspick and Matt Raymond, skated the length of the ice at full tilt to prevent Valentino from leaving with the leg. Nonplussed by the attention, Valentino threw the leg into the Estevan net and skated to the dressing room, but not before causing a commotion that fired up the 1,554 fans in attendance at the Forum. Cooler heads would prevail and the Bombers would leave the ice triumphant, doing their centre ice victory salute to the tune of "Sweet Caroline".
For Bomber fans, Valentino's actions bring to mind the Game 4 of the Bombers' first round series in 2016 against Weyburn, where a group of Red Wings tried to leave the ice with the treasured moose leg, starting a brawl and a surge in local interest. "Don't Mess with the Moose Leg" became the team and the community's rallying cry for the rest of the playoffs. Weyburn never won again after that - after that fight, the Bombers would win the next game, upset the third-seeded Red Wings in five games and come within two wins from the SJHL title, despite entering the playoffs as a sixth seed.
Game 4 of the series will be played at the Whitney Forum Wednesday night, with Game 5 now confirmed to be played in Estevan this Saturday. If needed, the series will return to Flin Flon for Game 6 May 3 and would end with a Game 7 (once again, if needed) in Estevan May 6.
