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SJHL playoff simulation: Bombers, Stars take leads in second round series

Saturday night is hockey night - well, video game simulation hockey night, anyway.
Haygarth doing Haygarth things
Melfort's Vaclav Prospal and Flin Flon forward Chase Haygarth get into a little post-whistle dust-up during Game 5 of The Reminder's NHL 20 simulation of the SJHL playoffs. - PHOTO COURTESY EA SPORTS/NHL 20

Saturday night is hockey night - well, video game simulation hockey night, anyway. The Reminder's simulation of the second round of the SJHL playoffs continued Saturday, with Flin Flon hoping to take control against Melfort and Battlefords and La Ronge aiming to get the upper hand in an exciting series.

The Bombers headed out to the Whitney Forum in a series where all four previous games had been won by the road team. Wearing the team’s maroon throwback uniforms, the Bombers took early control of the game and opened the scoring. Caleb Franklin scored off a two-on-one rush with Hayden Clayton, opening the scoring for Flin Flon.

The lead would not last long, though. Kenzie Arnold tied the game up two minutes later for the Mustangs. Pinpoint passes around the Bombers’ defensive zone teed Arnold up with a prime shot at the hashmarks that Bomber goalie Jacob Delorme never even saw.

With more back and forth action in the second period, Franklin came through again for the Bombers, finding his way into a passing lane and picking off a breakout pass to come in and beat Melfort’s Shawn Parkinson. The Bombers held a 2-1 lead through 40.

The third period would prove to be a slugfest for both sides. Zach Anderson tied the matchup early in the third with a slapshot that found its way through traffic, beating Delorme. Moments later, the Bombers set up in Melfort’s zone. Adam Victorino very nearly went bar down on Parkinson from 55 feet out, but the puck bounced off the crossbar to safety.

Tristan Lemyre made his presence known midway through the third, backhanding in a failed clearance to give the Bombers another one goal lead.

Like every other one goal lead the Bombers got Saturday night, it didn’t last long. Tian Rask yammed a slapshot up and over Delorme with four minutes to go, tying the game back up at 3. An Easton Haygarth hooking penalty led to a frantic – and successful – Bomber penalty kill

Overtime would be needed to decide a winner. The final score would be 4-3 – for whom, though?

A pair of penalties early in OT put both teams down to four-on-four in Melfort’s zone. When the Mustangs got the puck back, they marched down to the Bomber side and set up shop. Rask very nearly ended the night with a one-timer, but Delorme tracked the shot and got just enough of it to redirect it into the netting over the glass.

Parkinson made a big save of his own shortly after both teams hit even strength, robbing Alec Malo from mere feet away from the goal line twice.

Melfort’s Colton Schell was assessed a tripping penalty five minutes into OT, setting the Bombers up for a big chance. That chance came from defender Troy Quinn, who got the puck at the blueline, took a few steps in and clapped a bomb off the post and past Parkinson, walking the game off and sending Bomber fans home happy with a 4-3 OT win.

Delorme made 39 saves. Parkinson, whose red-hot form had begun to turn slightly, made 37 stops on the night. The Bombers now lead the series 3-2 and will have a chance to clinch a spot in the league finals in Melfort Monday night.

Battlefords/La Ronge

Scoring first is always crucial in the playoffs. That’s a lesson the Battlefords North Stars seemed to take to heart in Game 5 against La Ronge, filling the net as often as possible to start the game.

Dylan Esau opened the scoring for the Stars on a tap-in from a quality point pass by Jake McCabe, giving the Stars a 1-0 lead only 3:29 into the game.

A minute later, a Matthew Fletcher shot from the point snuck past La Ronge goalie Liam McGarva, then Quintin Loon-Stewardson added another goal moments after that. Eight minutes into the game, the Stars led 3-0.

Fletcher added another goal on the powerplay late in the period. Ty Budai got La Ronge on the board with a minute to go in the first.

Beginning the second with a 4-1 lead, the Stars owned the ice. Both teams traded goals in the second, with Nolan Doell scoring for La Ronge and Kaden Boser doing the same for the home team. A third-period goal by Ice Wolf Spencer Kennedy closed the gap to 5-3, but Boser would add an empty netter, giving the Stars a 3-2 series lead and a big 6-3 win on home ice.

Battleford shelled McGarva, hitting him with 49 shots on the night. Battlefords’ own netminder, Kristian Lyon, hardly had a quiet night himself, making 39 saves.

The Stars will try to close the series out in a Game 6 on enemy territory Monday night.

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