The Bombers picked up a big W against tough opponents Friday night and did it in style, beating Humboldt 6-2.
Flin Flon got the lead in the second and kept the pressure on to the final whistle, handing a loss to one of their closest rivals in the league standings.
Goal number one went to the maroon and white, with a Whitney Forum bounce taking the puck from the corner to the side of Humboldt goalie Benjamin Motew's net, causing both Brock Mueller and Kylynn Olafson to jump on the loose puck. That puck would bounce up over Motew's right pad and in - Mueller got credit for the goal, his first as a Bomber.
Soon after, the Broncos would tie things back up, with Daylan Weigel getting a seeing-eye shot from the point through traffic on a Humboldt powerplay. Flin Flon would get a powerplay of their own soon after, but would lose it on an overexuberant line change, giving the Bombers a too-many-men call and killing the chance. Most of the first period was ping-pong hockey, a battle of possession and position with little other action - the game would enter intermission tied at one.
Humboldt opened the second period with momentum, but the Bombers would be the team that broke through. A shot by Jacob Vockler would bounce up on Motew and over him, landing in the crease behind him, where Jeremi Tremblay would pounce on it. Moments later, the Bombers extended their lead - Brent Gulenchyn, stuck with the puck by a Humboldt player behind the Broncos' net, would somehow fire a pass out to the point, where Noah Houle caught the pass, fired it at Motew and beat the goalie clean, scoring his first goal as a Bomber.
More penalties and chances would come later in the frame for both teams, ending with nothing, but the Bombers would lead by two heading into the third.
Humboldt cut that lead to one after a Bomber penalty gave the visitors a chance with a man up - a shot by Tim Kim was deflected in front by Spencer Bell, beating Flin Flon goalie Harmon Laser-Hume.
That was as close as the Horsies would get - Flin Flon opened the taps in the third period to seal the win. Tremblay nearly scored his second goal of the night on a shot that Motew took off his mask, then saved. A minute later, Tremblay got a little revenge on the goalie as another Whitney Forum bounce took the puck from behind the goal and into the slot, where the forward beat Motew clean with a wrister. It was the third Bomber goal of the night to come from a weird bounce off the backboard - while Tremblay was named the Bombers' first star of the game on the SJHL website, one could argue the Forum's famously unpredictable boards earned second place.
From there, it was all either Bomber offence or rough stuff. A point shot from Houle would be hacked at by Alexi Sylvestre, who beat Motew to make it 5-2. Jaxon Martens nearly got his own name on the scoresheet with a partial break, but he was tripped en route to the net - that led to a 5-on-3 powerplay that the Bombers could not convert on.
The game devolved with about five minutes to go, as Weigel blew up Vockler just inside the Bronco zone with a high hit. That drew the ire of Alex Von Sprecken, who dropped the gloves with Weigel and had a short fight, with Von Sprecken landing most punches and scoring the takedown. Both players were ejected, with Weigel getting an extra penalty for a hit to the head for his trouble. Vockler would stay in the game and almost get a goal of his own, bringing one off the post.
Moments later, Flin Flon twisted the knife one more time, with Gulenchyn tipping in a Cole Tanchuk point shot to make it 6-2 for the home team.
Yet more rough stuff would come before the final whistle, with Flin Flon's Matt Egan and Humboldt's Quinn Myles having a spirited donnybrook in the dying seconds. Humboldt coach Scott Barney was himself ejected with six seconds to go and some Broncos players tried unsuccessfully to goad Bomber players into a fight after the final whistle, putting the cherry on top of a game to forget for Humboldt.
Laser-Hume stopped 26 shots for the win Friday night, while Motew, the SJHL's reigning goalie of the month, made 31 saves on 37 shots. Neither of the Bombers' top scorers - Cole Duperreault and Jaeden Mercier - got points, but Vockler had three assists, Tremblay scored twice and Houle, Sylvestre and Gulenchyn each finished with a goal and an assist.
Flin Flon now boasts a five-game winning streak, beating Yorkton Dec. 9 and winning three straight against La Ronge before and after the holiday break.
The victory pushes the Bombers past La Ronge into sole possession of both second overall in the league and top spot in the Sherwood division, with 47 points in 32 games - ahead of the Ice Wolves' 45 points in 36 games. Meanwhile, the Broncos fall to fifth in the league with 41 points, overtaken by Estevan, who picked up a point in an overtime loss - however, Humboldt remains third in the league in points percentage, behind only the Battlefords North Stars and the Bombers.
The two teams will hit the ice again at the Whitney Forum Saturday night.
