The Bombers picked up a big home win on parents' weekend Friday night, beating Melville 4-2.
With a crowd full of friends and family from across Canada and the U.S., the Bombers started slow but eventually built up steam over Melville. The Millionaires, who have played the Bombers three times this season including Friday's game, appeared to have learned from their first two games, playing the Bombers tightly early on.
The Bombers would, eventually, find holes in the Mils' armour. When the Mils took a mid-first-period kneeing penalty, the Bombers took advantage. A first chance would be snuffed out by a dramatic (and painful) shot block by Melville defender Matt Kjemhus. Moments later, Jaeden Mercier would find Jeremi Tremblay across the crease and Tremblay would tap the puck into an open net with a backhand, beating Melville's Kelton Pyne.
Within a few seconds of the first goal, Alexi Sylvestre added a highlight-reel second goal, cutting into the zone and putting a picture-perfect backhand bar-down on Pyne. The Bombers would lead 2-0 after the first, with the shots on goal at 13-2 Bombers.
Melville would end the first and start the second with a four-minute powerplay, but did not muster a single shot during those four minutes. That would prove costly, as once the Bombers would get another powerplay of their own, Liam Bridger would make good on a chance to make the game 3-0, banging in a puck at the side of the goal.
The game turned physical following the third goal, with Bomber Dawson Karol getting into a scrap with Brayden Fryfogle of the Mils - Karol would jersey Fryfogle and get a quick takedown and both players would get a summary trip to the showers. Fryfogle would end up getting an extra 10-minute misconduct for not having his jersey properly tied down, allowing him to be jerseyed mid-fight, but play would stay 5-on-5.
The Millionaires would make the game somewhat interesting late, with Zach Cain scoring off a Bomber turnover late in the second and another goal from Carter McKay in the third, but the Bombers would hang on. With a surge of third-period momentum, Brent Gulenchyn scored his first goal as a Bomber by finding a loose puck in the crease and pushing it past Pyne, making it 4-2 Bombers - how the score would stay at the final whistle.
Harmon Laser-Hume had a deceptively busy night in the Bomber crease, making just 18 saves but keeping busy despite a series of missed-net shots and posts from the visitors. Pyne stopped 32 pucks on the evening, but was still saddled with the L.
The Bombers and Mils will play again at the Forum Saturday night.
Flin Flon remains atop the Sherwood division (and third in the league standings) with 22 points in 15 games. Only the Battlefords North Stars, their 14-0-0-1 record in 15 games and 29 of 30 possible points and Humboldt's 24 points in 14 games are above the Bombers.
