If you love a good underdog story, the Flin Flon Bombers sure have one for you.
One night after taking the Battlefords North Stars - ranked as the fifth-best junior A team in Canada - to overtime, the Bombers beat the Stars 4-3 in a Saturday night slobberknocker.
The Stars owned the first period on the scoresheet, leading 2-0 after 20 from goals by Matthias Urbanski and Levi Kleiboer. Once the second period got going, the story changed.
Calvon Boots took charge early in the period, with not just one, but two goals, scored only seven seconds apart. Thanks to Boots' sudden outburst, the Bombers and Stars were tied.
A goal late in the second period by Bomber defenseman Vaughan Bamford gave the Bombers a 3-2 lead after the second.
Stars forward Chaseton Braid threatened the hopes of the Bomber faithful with a goal to tie the game, but Dylan Burton took advantage of a lucky bounce to beat Battleford keeper Taryn Kotchorek.
Two late penalties by Bomber forwards Jordan McCausland and Daylan Marchi gave the Stars a pair of late powerplays, but Bomber netminder Brenden Newton stopped every shot that faced him late, sealing the win. Bombers mobbed Newton after the final horn, almost as if the team had won a hard-fought playoff game.
Newton got the win with a 36 save performance, while Kotchorek took only his fifth loss of the season, making 23 stops.
The Bombers have caught fire after the holiday break, earning points in seven of their last eight games and earning six wins over that time. The Bombers earned their three points this weekend through committee scoring, seven goals from six different scorers - even after dealing leading scorer Nick Shumlanski to the Humboldt Broncos at the trade deadline.
After next week's SJHL-MJHL Showcase tournament in Regina, Flin Flon will host the La Ronge Ice Wolves on Jan. 19. The team will then head out on a four game road swing through Melville, Yorkton, Humboldt and La Ronge.
