The Flin Flon Bombers have grabbed two points from one of Canada's top junior teams.
Flin Flon pipped the Nipawin Hawks 3-2 on Monday night, defeating the fourth-ranked junior A team in Canada according to last week's CJHL rankings.
After a scoreless first period, Rob Johnson struck first early in the second, scoring his first goal in nearly a month and snapping an seven-game pointless streak. Nipawin's Logan Casavant tied things up five minutes later, but Ethan Daniels got the lead back for Flin Flon late in the period.
Nipawin clawed back once again in the third, getting a goal from Daven Smith. However, barely a minute later, the Bombers' top line struck once more, with Nate Hooper finding the twine past Hawks netminder Jake Anthony. A late push by Nipawin just wasn't enough for the Hawks, who lost their second straight game after going undefeated for 30 consecutive games.
Brenden Newton earned a big win for Flin Flon, making 41 stops. Anthony made 38 saves in a losing effort.
Three Bomber forwards - Brandson Hein, Hooper and Chrystopher Collin - have caught fire since Hein joined the team at the SJHL roster deadline. Since Hein came north on Jan. 19 after being reassigned by the WHL's Everett Silvertips, the three have exploded - Collin has 13 points in 10 games, while ex-midget linemates Hooper and Hein have 15 points and 14 points in 11 games.
Nipawin will have two chances to redeem themselves against the Bombers over the next week. The two will meet in Flin Flon on Feb. 23 before heading back to Nipawin for a game on Feb. 24. The Bombers have eight more regular season games, including five straight road games before having two final home games to end the season - once against Melfort on Mar. 6 and again with La Ronge on Mar. 9.
