If ever there was a time for a Plan B, it'd be right now.
The Flin Flon Bombers are looking down the barrel of a 3-0 series deficit after losing a 2-1 overtime thriller to the Battlefords North Stars.
Both teams made lineup changes for game 3, with the Bombers choosing goaltender Zac Robidoux over Brenden Newton. Newton had started the last two games of the series. Bomber Jason Lavallee and Stars forward Coby Downs each sat out the game, serving one-game suspensions for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Stars struck first, with Keaton Holinaty pouncing on a Cory Thomas turnover early in the second period.
The Bombers appeared to tie the game up, with a bouncing puck coming over the back of the net and hopping inside. The goal was waved off by the on-ice officials, saying Jordan McCausland had played the puck with a high stick. Fans in attendance were not pleased, greeting the decision with a chorus of boos.
McCausland, playing his first game of the series after coming back from injury, would not be denied long. McCausland would score his first of the series midway through the third, tying the game. The Bombers controlled much of the play in the third, sending the game to overtime.
The balance of play shifted in the extra frame, with the Battlefords side keeping Flin Flon stuck in their zone. Finally, around ten minutes into the overtime period, Connor Logan ended the game with a pinpoint shot, popping Robidoux's water bottle and ending the home team's hopes.
Robidoux ended the game with 33 saves, with counterpart Taryn Kotchorek making 41 stops in the win.
The teams play again April 19 at the Whitney Forum. A Bomber win would force a fifth game at the North Battleford Civic Centre on Friday, April 21, while a Stars win would give them the Canalta Cup title.
