Flin Flon got back in the win column against Nipawin Tuesday night - and Cal Schell wrote his name in the Bombers' record books.
The Bombers won 4-0 against their division rivals on the road, with Schell earning his seventh shutout this season in the process, setting a modern Bomber record for shutouts in a single season.
The Bombers got an early lead courtesy of Jacob Vockler, who scored less than five minutes in after sneaking away from coverage and getting open in the slot. While the Bombers’ sticks went dormant for a time, they went back into full gear in the second, scoring three special teams goals in a row.
First, captain Zak Smith scored on the powerplay early in the second, then he did it again midway through the period. Moments later, with a Bomber in the box, Drew Kuzma made good on a shorthanded chance, making it 4-0 Flin Flon.
No further offence of note came through, with Jaeden Mercier racking up three assists and Kuzma getting a goal and two helpers.
The Bombers earned a big win and Schell snagged a new record, 29 shots up and 29 saves down, being mobbed by his teammates after the final whistle.
With his seventh shutout of the season, Schell – making his return from an injury that sidelined him for the past few games – set a new modern Bomber record for most shutouts in a season, passing former Bomber netminder Zac Robidoux’s six blanks in 2016-17. Since the Bombers joined the SJHL in 1986, no goalie has put up seven shutouts in a season in a Bomber sweater until Schell, who now leads the league in shutouts.
The team’s all-time single-season shutout record belongs to Chris Worthy, who had 10 clean sheets in 1967-68 in the WCHL.
Schell's return to the ice was not the only noteworthy return for the Bombers Tuesday, as defenceman Cole Vardy appeared in the lineup again. The colossus of Hammonds Plains, N.S. played a pair of games during a recent road trip, but has otherwise been out of the lineup nursing injuries since Jan. 28.
The win pushes the Bombers back into third place overall in the SJHL, giving the team 69 points in 53 games - one point clear of the Battlefords North Stars (while the Stars have a game in hand) and two points clear of Melfort in the same amount of games. The Bombers cannot finish higher than third in the league standings, but cannot drop lower than fifth.
The Bombers have five games left to play this regular season - an away game in La Ronge March 4 and a home game against the Ice Wolves the next night, a home game against the Mustangs March 8, a road game in Melfort March 10 and a finale on the road against the Stars March 11.
