Some hockey games are entertaining evenings remembered fondly by fans in time. Tuesday night's Bomber game was not one of those.
The Bombers dropped a 4-1 game on home ice to the Melfort Mustangs Tuesday, both falling from top spot in the Sherwood Division and dropping from second in the league to third.
Things began well enough for the Bombers, who opened the scoring early in the first. A two-on-one for Caleb Franklin and Brandon Cianflone ended with Cianflone pounding home his own rebound, giving the Bombers an early lead.
From there, the Bombers appeared to use an experimental strategy where a team tries to win by barely shooting the puck. Melfort took advantage of the Bombers' offensive woes by scoring four straight goals over the remaining 55 minutes. Deklan Whillans knocked a rebound past Jacob Delorme to tie the game, then Ryley Lanthier snuck one in low to give the 'Stangs the lead after 20 minutes.
With little offence of any kind in the second, Greg Parker and Christian Albertson added insurance markers in the third.
Over the entire 60 minutes, the Bombers mustered only 18 shots, a season low for one of the SJHL's most potent offences. Mustang goalie Tanner Martin stopped 17 of those shots for the win, while Delorme made 37 saves in a losing effort.
The entirety of the Bombers' first line was held off the scoresheet for the first time this season, despite having four powerplay chances.
The Melfort win allows them to leapfrog the Bombers in the standings, going from having 25 points to 27 and jumping over the Bombers' 26 to retake the lead of the Sherwood Division. The Mustangs will now be ranked as the SJHL's second seeded team, behind only the powerhouse Battlefords North Stars, while the Bombers will sit third.
The Bombers will play the Mustangs again later this week - this time, in Melfort on Halloween night.
