There was no quit in the Flin Flon Bombers last week.
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s seventh-seeded squad stormed back from a 3-0 deficit to force a seventh game against the No. 2-seed Battlefords North Stars in their quarterfinal series. With the series knotted at 3-3, the final game was slated to be played in North Battleford on Tuesday night after The Reminder deadline.
“I think what’s allowed us to come back is the mindset and the character of these guys,” Bombers head coach Mike Reagan said the day after game five. “They have made the choice to look at it as one game at a time. You can’t have the resilience these guys have without a positive attitude.”
Goaltender Gabriel Waked has played a big role in the Bombers’ comeback against the North Stars. He had a .927 save percentage through six games. Waked stopped 55 shots in a three-overtime game five.
“Waked has been amazing,” Reagan said after game five. “He seems to be getting better each and every game. The guys have so much confidence in him it’s amazing.”
Now in his 12th season, Reagan is the longest-tenured coach in the SJHL and the longest-serving coach in the Bombers’ nine-decade history. After game five, he said he has never seen a series so evenly matched. In 2014, the Bombers played Estevan in a five-game Wild Card series that saw the first three games go to overtime, “but neither of those teams were contenders to win the league. Here you have two teams that are good enough to win the league and are playing the majority of the series tied,” the coach said.
Heading into game seven, the series has featured four overtime games. Battlefords won the first two games at home and then got the third contest, 3-2, in overtime in Flin Flon. That put the Bombers down 3-0.
The Flin Flon team did not quit. The Bombers responded by winning game four at home, 2-1, in overtime. Brandson Hein had the OT winner to give his team the victory and an opportunity to keep fighting.
Game five last Friday night was a playoff classic that was not decided until captain Nate Hooper scored in the third overtime period to give his team a 4-3 victory. On the road, the Bombers trailed 1-0 and 2-1 at the intermissions.
Veteran defenceman Isaac Jackson, who grew up in Flin Flon, scored to tie the contest early in the third period. However, Macgregor Sinclair answered for Battlefords. With Waked pulled and six skaters on the ice, Hooper tied the game at 3-3. In the third overtime period, he was credited with the winning goal as Flin Flon scored after a goalmouth scramble.
With their season on the line, the Bombers lost Sherwood Division Top Defenceman Calvon Boots during the game to an injury, playing with only five defencemen. Reagan said rookies Ryder Richmond and Jack Michell “stepped up huge and played like three-year vets. Amazing how when thrown into tough situations you find out what you’re made of. (Tyler) Higgins, Jackson and (Mason) Martin were studs (Saturday) playing more than 45 minutes each - maybe more.”
In game six, still facing elimination, the Bombers got contributions from various sources to win 6-4 and force game seven. Six different Flin Flon players scored on the night. Daylan Marchi, Caleb Franklin, and Donavan Houle-Villeneuve all had two points.
Flin Flon led 2-1 after the first period. The North Stars outscored the home team 3-1 in the second to take a 4-3 lead into the final period. Michell scored his first junior playoff goal to help keep the Bombers within striking distance.
Moretz tied the game on a third-period breakaway. The North Stars got called for too many men on the ice and the Bombers punished them with a power-play goal by Cade Kowalski to take a 5-4 lead. Marchi added an empty net goal to cap the game.
