The Bombers may want to burn the game tape from this one. A third-period collapse took the Bombers from a possible 4-3 win to a 6-4 loss to the Nipawin Hawks.
Carson Erhardt opened the scoring with one of two shorthanded goals the Hawks would score Saturday night. Tristan Lemyre tied things back up moments later. Lemyre now leads the SJHL in both goals and points by a rookie, despite playing 15 fewer games than second-place Kyle Ford of La Ronge.
Cole Rafuse gave the Bombers a lead early in the second, with Matt Flodell extending the lead to 3-1 later in the period. Brodie Girod and Bronson Adams added goals of their own for the Hawks, tying up the game, but Rafuse added another goal to give the Bombers a 4-3 lead heading into the third.
It was in the final frame where things fell apart for the Bombers. Michael Makarenko tied the game with Nipawin’s second shorthanded goal of the night just 29 seconds into the period. Jake Tremblay added a pair of late goals to cement a Nipawin win.
Dalton Dosch got the call in Nipawin’s net and did not disappoint Hawks fans making 29 saves in a win. Jacob Delorme made 30 saves in a losing effort for the Bombers.
The loss changes little in either the league or Sherwood division standings, where the Bombers remain on top of the division and second overall with 59 points. Melfort, having snagged a single point in a shootout loss to Kindersley, moves into second in the Sherwood and fourth in the league, while Nipawin and La Ronge are now tied for third in the division and fifth in the league.
If current win percentages hold up, the Bombers will be set with a first-round playoff matchup with the Estevan Bruins, who sit seventh in the league. La Ronge would face third-place Yorkton, while Melfort and Nipawin would play each other.
The Bombers will have a three-game homestand next week, playing Estevan Wednesday, Weyburn Friday and La Ronge Saturday night. Following that, the Bombers will play a gruelling four-games-in-five nights road trip from Feb. 4-8.
