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Bomber Game Report: Flin Flon ties final series with huge 7-1 home victory

Game 4. A massive home win for the Bombers. The SJHL finals are tied.
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Bomber Game Report.

Game 4. A massive home win for the Bombers. The SJHL finals are tied.

Down 2-1 in the series going in, Flin Flon took it to the league-leading Estevan Bruins at the Whitney Forum Wednesday, getting a lopsided 7-1 victory and making the series tied at two.

Out of the gate, the Bombers would get on the board first, thanks to Jacob Vockler, who put a stellar wrist shot past the Bruins' Boston Bilous midway through the first.

Neither team was able to stay out of the penalty box much Wednesday night, starting in earnest with Gabriel Shipper clipping the Bruins' Mark Rumsey in the face with a high stick, drawing blood and sending Shipper to the box for four minutes. The Bruins would almost tie things up during a 4-on-4 period not long after, when Cal Schell got knocked over in a scrum in the Bomber crease. The official near the net called the play a Bruins goal at first, but on further discussion, the play ended with no goal and a Bomber penalty, which Flin Flon would eventually kill off.

The Bombers would keep attacking. Jaeden Mercier would come in, stop and fire a pinpoint wrister that beat Bilous clean, giving the Bombers a 2-0 lead. The Bruins would get momentum late in the frame, but a series of shot blocks - including at least two by Cole Vardy - would keep the game at 2-0 Bombers after 20 minutes.

Most chances would go to Estevan early in the second, with the visitors eventually solving Schell on a powerplay. A point shot that came in high was initially saved by the goalie, but a rebound would kick right out to Eric Pearce, who would slot it past the Bomber netminder to cleave the lead in half. It was as close as the game would get.

Eventually, Bomber captain Zak Smith would buzz the net, firing a shot that would squeak through Bilous and just gain enough purchase on the ice to roll over the goal line, giving the Bombers a 3-1 advantage. More chances would come throughout the period - Lucas Fry almost scoring off a clearing attempt when it caromed off a stanchion, Drew Kuzma nearly getting a goal shortly before the TV break, Vardy and Shipper teaming up for a near miss.

Some rough stuff would sideline players in the second. Kylynn Olafson would get ejected for a check from behind on the Bruins' Matt Millette. Later in the frame, Bruin Dayton Deics hit Brett Wieschorster with a very similar hit to the numbers, getting two for cross-checking. Both teams were getting noticeably chippy heading into the third.

Starting early in the third period, the wheels came off for the visitors. Matt Raymond almost got on the board after snagging a giveaway in the Estevan slot, but Bilous got a stick on the shot and deflected it into the netting. 

With the Bombers gaining steam throughout the early third, goals came in bunches. Drew Kuzma got the party going with a backhand tap-in, making the game 4-1. Ethan Anstey would score later in the frame, scoring not only his first playoff goal as a Bomber but his first goal as a Bomber full stop, forcing Bilous to the Estevan bench for the sympathy yank.

In came backup Cam Hrdlicka, followed soon after by more Estevan penalties.Kade Runke would take a tripping call, then be tossed from the game after some post-whistle extracurriculars. With Runke in the dressing room and a pair of Bruins in the box, Mercier would score his second on the night to extend the lead to 6-1.

The next incident saw the Bruins' Aleksa Babic - listed by the league as 6-foot-1, 185 pounds - would square up with Shipper - listed at 5-foot-8, 165 pounds - would get into a donnybrook after a whistle, with both getting shots in before Shipper earned the takedown.

Hot on the heels of the fight, Jaxon Martens would score again for the Bombers, getting his first playoff marker as a Bomber and bookending the scoring.

The last seven minutes were uneventful, with neither team willing to do much. At one point with around three minutes left, Estevan's Dayton Deics kept the puck behind his net while Wieschorster stood in the slot and stared him down, declining to forecheck further. The two players would stand still for several moments before officials would finally blow the whistle and call a faceoff.

Hoping to quell any last-second rough stuff, with seven seconds left on the clock after a late whistle, the refs ran the clock down to zeroes. 

Estevan apparently learned a lesson from the end of Game 3 - no moose leg shenanigans took place after the final horn, with Mason Kaspick and Cory King ensuring that by diving onto the leg like bodyguards once it hit the ice. Players piled around Cal Schell and Ben Montgomery, who played the last six minutes of the game with Schell on the bench. Hollering from the crowd were 1,586 fans screaming their lungs out, with a group pounding the Lexan on the guard rails above the dressing rooms in celebration.

Making 23 shots on the night, Schell earned his 10th win of the playoffs. Montgomery, with about six minutes in the net, made six saves during that time.

On the other side, Bilous made 26 saves on 31 shots. Accurate numbers for Hrdlicka are not available from the SJHL - the league, as of 11 p.m. Wednesday, has Hrdlicka as having given up two goals on only two shots, but the goalie made several saves in relief.

Overall, the Bombers' win ties the final series at 2 all and turns the series into a best-of-three. The Bombers and Bruins will go back to Estevan for Game 5 Saturday night.

So far, all four games in the series have been won by the home team. The Bombers will have to break that streak if they have any hope of winning - Estevan will host at least one, possibly two, more games in this series.

Every Bomber fan will be pleased to know that the result also guaranteed one more home game for the Bombers - Game 6 will take place at the Whitney Forum May 3. It will be the final home game for the Bombers on the season.

Lots will be on the line that game. Depending on the result of Game 5, one team will be able to win the Canalta Cup at the Forum that night - whether it will be the Bombers or Bruins remains to be seen.

Every Bomber forward except three ended Game 4 with at least one point. Smith and Mercier led the way with three points - a goal and two assists for Smith, two goals and an assist for Mercier - while Kuzma, Shipper and Xavier Lapointe each had two points.

Game 5 will be broadcast on Sasktel Max from Estevan and will start at 7 p.m. Saskatchewan time - 8 p.m. local time for Flin Flon.

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