The Bombers kept it close for 40 minutes but blew apart in the third, giving up four goals in the final frame and losing 6-2 to Humboldt Friday night.
Staring their final weekend set of the regular season, the Bombers never got a lead in the matchup - Humboldt opened the scoring late in the first courtesy of a Boris Kofman goal. Despite outshooting the Broncos 16-10 through the first 20 minutes, Humboldt entered the second up 1-0 where it counts.
Flin Flon equalized things three minutes into the second when Jerome Gilbert got on the board, but Humboldt's top player put them up not long after. Spencer Bell, the SJHL's leading goal-scorer, picked up his 46th of the season to put the Broncos back up, but late in the frame on a powerplay, Alexi Sylvestre got his name on the scoresheet, tying the game.
It was in the third where it all fell apart for the maroon and white. Bell got his second of the night early in the period and the Broncos would not let up - Matthew Van Blaricom pushed the team ahead with a goal of his own, then Landen Stromme got on the board too. This was compounded by the Bomber offence suddenly going quiet - Flin Flon managed only nine shots in the third period, despite having 30 combined in the first two.
Finally, Travis Bryson got the final goal of the night in the last minute of play, a powerplay goal that put Humboldt's horsies up four. The final horn sounded as relief for the Bombers, who will try to turn the ship around for their final regular season game Saturday, also on the road and also against Humboldt.
Harmon Laser-Hume stopped 24 shots on the night, while Humboldt's Benjamin Motew made 37 stops.
It is the most lopsided loss the Bombers have taken all season, the first time this year they've lost by four goals and just the second time they've lost by at least three.
The loss won't make a difference in the standings - the Bombers have long since clinched top spot in the league and have 91 points in total. The team now has a 44-8-2-1 record. The loss Friday means this year's Bomber squad will fall short in a bid to make team history - with just one game left, they will not be able to reach the 1956-57 Bomber squad's junior A club record of 46 wins in a season.
Elsewhere in the standings, the Bombers still don't know who they will face in the playoffs. Three teams came into Friday with a shot at finishing eighth and playing the Bombers in the first round. Now just two can finish there - Estevan and Kindersley. Both teams lost Friday - Estevan lost to Weyburn, who confirmed they would finish sixth with the win, while the Klippers ate a 5-3 loss to Battlefords. Both teams have rematches with those teams Saturday.
If Estevan beats Weyburn, it will mean Kindersley will finish eighth, even if they win Saturday, setting up a Bombers/Klippers series. If the Wings beat the Bruins, Kindersley can jump out of eighth and push the Bruins down with a win over the Stars, pitting Flin Flon and Estevan against each other for the third straight year. If both teams lose their games, the Bombers will face the Klippers.
Flin Flon could give the Broncos a parting shot if they win their final game Saturday - if Humboldt loses and the Stars beat the Klippers, the Stars will jump past the Broncos into third spot in the SJHL and knock the Broncos down to fourth, changing Humboldt's plan from a series with 58-point Weyburn to a series with 63-point Melville, who beat the Broncos twice this season compared to just once for Weyburn.
