The Bombers took their fourth loss in their past six games Friday night on the road, dropping a 6-3 decision to division rivals Melfort.
Flin Flon started strong, with Kylynn Olafson getting the monkey off his back by scoring his first goal as a Bomber since last February in the opening minutes. Olafson beat Melfort's Joel Favreau with a low shot, capitalizing on both a Mustangs turnover and a great feed by Brent Gulenchyn. That was followed midway through the period, with a Cole Tanchuk shot taking a bounce in the slot and beating Favreau, making it 2-0 at the 10 minute mark.
That would be the high point of the night for the Bombers. Melfort started to claw back moments later, with Zac Somers firing a slot pass past Harmon Laser-Hume to make it a 2-1 game. With seven minutes to go in the frame, Somers played distributor for teammate Cameron Emigh, who tied the game with a long shot that beat Laser-Hume clean. The game was tied at two after one.
Somers would score a second goal on a tip in the slot, giving Melfort their first lead of the game. Jaeden Mercier would tie the game back up moments later, knocking a loose puck home past Favreau, but the 'Stangs would get that lead back soon after, with a shot from the faceoff dot by Dawson Leroux beating Laser-Hume.
Melfort led 4-3 entering the third and, despite late attempts by the Bombers with Laser-Hume on the bench, a pair of empty-net goals by Aidyn Hutchinson and by Leroux would seal Flin Flon's fate. The Bombers would get frustrated late in the game, with Reece Richmond and Melfort's Boston Maxwell getting into a heated conversation in the dying moments, but the result would still be the Bombers' sixth regulation loss of the season.
Favreau got the W with a 36 save showing, while Laser-Hume had a night to forget, stopping 21 shots on the evening.
The two teams will play again at the Whitney Forum Saturday night in the second leg of the teams' home-and-home weekend set. Saturday's game will be the Bombers' annual teddy-bear toss game, with fans encouraged to throw stuffed animals on the ice after the team's first goal of the night as donations for local Christmas gift campaigns.
The road showing puts the Bombers' record in road games down to 6-5-1-0 on the season, compared to the team's 9-1-1-1 record at the Forum.
