Bomber fans expecting a gift from the team Saturday night got a lump of coal instead. A third-period collapse turned the game from a possible 6-3 win on home ice to a 7-6 overtime loss to La Ronge.
Flin Flon started out hot, with Reid Robertson and Donavan Houle-Villeneuve adding first period goals. James Philpott got the Ice Wolves on the board, but Jaeden Mercier answered back soon after. The Bombers led 3-1 after 20.
Daylon Mannon added goals in the second for La Ronge, but both Haygarth Brothers and Houle-Villeneuve answered back, giving the Bombers a 6-3 lead heading into the third.
With 20 minutes to go, the Ice Wolves took control. Jake Gudjonson cut the Bomber lead to two, but with moments left in the game, the Bombers still led 6-4. With goalie Liam McGarva on the bench, Kevin Fillier found a corner on Bomber goalie Jordan Bersherminsky to make it a one goal game. Then, with only eight seconds left in the game, Aaron Greyeyes punched the puck home to tie the game at 6-6 and send it to overtime.
The Bombers controlled possession for much of overtime, but in the end, the Wolves took advantage. A turnover on the sideboards sent Jordan Mish and Greyeyes off to the races and Dane Hirst and Houle-Villeneuve couldn't keep up. Greyeyes scored to complete the comeback.
Bersherminsky, a goalie with the junior B Regina Capitals, played his first junior A game in place of an injured Jacob Delorme, making 35 saves in a heartbreaking loss. McGarva got the win after a 47 save performance.
The Bombers will head out of town on holiday break before meeting the Ice Wolves again for a home-and-home Jan. 3-4.
