The Bombers' five-game win streak was dashed Saturday, with Humboldt shutting out the home team 2-0.
Flin Flon wasn't able to get their offence going during their second game of the weekend with the Broncos, being shut out for the first time this season.
Humboldt and Flin Flon traded momentum throughout the first two periods, with the Broncos getting slightly more chances. Late in the second period, Humboldt caught a bounce to open the scoring - a point shot by Daylan Weigel hit Bomber defenceman Lucas Fry and went up and over Harmon Laser-Hume's glove, making it 1-0 Humboldt. That goal would stand as the game winner.
Flin Flon would have more momentum later in the game, with Cole Tanchuk having perhaps the best chance of the game for the Bombers, missing an open net behind Bronco goalie Benjamin Motew when the puck rolled on him pre-shot, causing him to miss high and wide. Blocked shots and positioning from the Broncos kept the shots that actually hit Motew to a minimum, but the Bombers did themselves no favours with plenty of missed nets, only logging seven shots in the third period. Jaeden Mercier got a prime chance midway through the third, with a bouncing puck going right to him in the slot, but Motew snared that with the glove.
With 1:43 to go, the Bombers pulled Laser-Hume, but that proved unsuccessful - in a late footrace to a puck that had gone back into the Bombers' zone, Humboldt's Spencer Bell beat out Bomber Noah Houle and sent the puck into the yawning cage, more or less ending the game.
Laser-Hume stopped 32 of 33 shots he faced, but got no help on the other end of the ice - Motew stopped all 28 Bomber shots he faced.
The Bombers' league-leading power play ended up not paying off at all on the weekend, missing a whopping 15 chances with a man or more up between Friday and Saturday's games.
Flin Flon is still second overall in the league standings and first in the Sherwood division despite the loss, sitting pretty with 47 points - two ahead of La Ronge, four ahead of the Broncos and five ahead of both Melfort and Estevan. Each of those teams except Humboldt have played more games than the Bombers have, keeping Flin Flon second in the SJHL's point percentages.
Saturday's game will be the Bombers' last one before the Jan. 10 roster deadline, after which the Bombers have to be down to 23 players on their active roster. Flin Flon currently has 14 forwards, nine defenders and two goalies on the active roster - 25 players in total. All trades must also be completed by Jan. 10.
The Bombers' next move will be a road trip next week, with three consecutive games on the road in three nights. The first of those games will be a rubber match against the Broncos at the Elgar Petersen Arena Jan. 12, followed by two games against last-place Kindersley Jan. 13-14. The Bombers won't have another game at home until Jan. 21, when the Notre Dame Hounds come to town.
