The Flin Flon Bombers will leave the SJHL Showcase after two shootout losses in two nights.
Flin Flon played two neutral site games at the Hamm Latrace Arena in Saskatoon as part of this year's SJHL Showcase tournament, losing 3-2 to Weyburn on Sunday night and 2-1 to Notre Dame on Monday.
The Bombers jumped out to early leads in both games. In the first game against Weyburn, team captain Ben Lanfermann and rookie Caleb Moretz got the Bombers on the board with two first-period markers. The Red Wings cut the lead in half in the second with a goal by Jeremy Velazquez before Cade Kowalski tied the game up on a power-play late in the third.
Overtime solved nothing, so the teams headed to the shootout. Weyburn forward Cole Woodliffe opened the festivities with a goal. Bomber shooter Chrystopher Collin couldn't solve Weyburn keeper Arik Weersink on Flin Flon's first shot. After Red Wing Erik Olson and Bomber Moretz exchanged misses, Weyburn's Landon Walters ended the game with a shot past Bomber netminder Brenden Newton.
Newton finished game one with 34 saves, while Weersink made 22 stops in the win.
Game two
The Bombers' second Showcase game, against the Notre Dame Hounds Monday night, was much like the team's first match-up.
Ethan Daniels opened the scoring in the second period with a power-play goal, giving the Bombers a 1-0 lead. Much like Sunday night's game, however, the good luck wouldn't last. Curtis Wiebe tied things up for the Hounds with less than five minutes left in the game.
Once more, overtime didn't provide an answer and the shootout commenced.
Nick Shumlanski started the shooters for Flin Flon. He couldn't get one back Hound goalie Jacob Standen. Alec Sawatzky failed for the Hounds, then Collin couldn't score for Flin Flon.
Notre Dame's second shooter, Jack Flaman, scored on Newton with Notre Dame's second shot, putting all the pressure on Bomber Donavan Houle-Villeneuve. Houle-Villeneuve couldn't solve Standen, giving the Hounds the win and leaving the Bombers high and dry for the second consecutive game.
Newton and Standen both made 36 saves in the game.
The Bombers head back up north on a three-game losing streak and with a 2-1-0-2 record, despite earning points in four of their five games. The Bombers are still ranked second in the Sherwood Division, only behind an undefeated Melfort Mustangs squad.
The Bombers will try to snap the slump with a pair of home games on Friday and Saturday against former Bomber Troy Williams and the Melville Millionaires. The Bombers will have another two-game homestand on Oct. 6 and 7 against the Kindersley Klippers before heading out on an 11-day, six-game road trip.
