The Bombers ran roughshod over the visiting Yorkton Terriers Thursday, piling on the offence early in a 8-3 win.
Flin Flon put five goals home in the first period and never relented until the final whistle, gathering a big home win in their first game of a weekend home stand. Flin Flon now boasts a five-game winning streak and has gone undefeated since their last southern road trip last month.
The Bombers started cooking very early, with Jacob Vockler jumping on the rebound of a Reece Richmond point shot less than two minutes in to open the scoring. Moments later, Alexi Sylvestre kept the scoring bonanza going, keeping on a 2-on-1 to make it a 2-0 game.
Liam Bridger extended the lead to three after stuffing one past Terriers starting goalie Tommy Bouchard, chasing the rookie from the crease having given up three goals on just seven shots. Replacement keeper Caleb Allen didn't fare much better, with Vockler getting the puck at the blue line soon after, stickhandling through the zone and dangling out three Terriers defenders and Allan in an act of utter filth that ended with the puck in the Yorkton net.
Yorkton would answer back late in the frame, with Mason Ruptash getting a puck past a leaping Harmon Laser-Hume to get the Terriers' first goal, but Flin Flon answered back on a powerplay, with quick passes giving Jeremi Tremblay a shot in the slot that he capitalized on, giving Flin Flon a 5-1 lead after 20 minutes.
With the game likely out of reach, things got chippy starting late in the first. The Terriers cut the lead to three with Colton Koran deflecting a puck off his chest and past Laser-Hume, but the Bombers pulled the lead back to four when Jaxon Martens left the box after a penalty and scored shortly after. Flin Flon led 6-2 going into the third.
The third frame brought a different sort of fun for the Bomber faithful. Logan Cyca caught a Bomber up high with a stick midway through the period, drawing the attention of Bomber captain Lucas Fry, who immediately fed Cyca a steady diet of right jabs. A brief fight ended with Fry getting a takedown.
Concurrently, Flin Flon's Alex Von Sprecken and Dalton Mayes of the Terriers also dropped the mitts, with both getting in several punches before Von Sprecken took Mayes down to the ice. Once the dust had settled, Yorkton ended up with a five-minute powerplay, which the Bombers successfully killed off.
Later in the frame, Sylvestre scored his second goal of the night on a tap-in, picking up a pass that had been blocked by a Terriers defender and getting it past Allan. Pavel McKenzie put Yorkton back on the board with a bar-south snipe on Laser-Hume, but Yorkton's offence would end there.
Liam Bridger got a breakaway on a 5-on-3 against the Bombers and was hauled down en route to the net, forcing a penalty shot, which Allan stopped. More physicality came late in the frame, with a big hit in the corner on Bomber Cole Tanchuk leading to a third tussle between Richmond and Yorkton's Brett Butz - no fighting majors were assessed, but both players were sent to the showers a few minutes early.
A long night for Yorkton ended with a Bomber powerplay goal with 39 seconds to go, with Tremblay getting his second goal of the game on a powerplay - the Bombers had seven different chances on the PP Thursday night and scored four times, while killing off each of their seven man disadvantages.
Allan ended up taking the L for Yorkton, making 30 saves. Laser-Hume stopped 33 pucks on the night. Jaeden Mercier led the way for the Bombers with five assists, while Bridger and Tremblay both walked out with four points on the night.
The Bombers are now tied with Humboldt for second in the league with 28 points, but have played two fewer games than the Broncos have. Flin Flon also sits atop the Sherwood division, three points ahead of surging La Ronge.
Flin Flon also put up a touchdown's worth of goals without the services of leading scorer Cole Duperreault, who is currently serving a suspension that took him out of both this game and the Bombers' next game.
Flin Flon and Yorkton will meet again at the Forum Friday night.
