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SJHL playoff simulation: Late penalty drama robs Bombers, Stars go up 2-0

Late penalties doomed the Bombers in Game 2 of The Reminder's SJHL finals simulation, taking Flin Flon from a 3-2 lead with seconds to go to a 4-3 overtime loss. Flin Flon got off on the right track, opening the scoring against the Stars.
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Late penalties doomed the Bombers in Game 2 of The Reminder's SJHL finals simulation, taking Flin Flon from a 3-2 lead with seconds to go to a 4-3 overtime loss.

Flin Flon got off on the right track, opening the scoring against the Stars. Tristan Lemyre scored on a rebound from a Dane Hirst point shot late in the first, giving Flin Flon a 1-0 lead after 20.

Battlefords clawed back in the second, getting a powerplay goal from Ben Hiltz barely a minute into the second, then getting a go-ahead goal from a Carson Reagan one-timer later on. Flin Flon's offence was stuck in neutral for much of the second, but gained momentum in the third. BIlly Klymchuk nearly tied the game on a breakaway, but a tip from the stick of a Stars defenceman rushing back knocked Klymchuk's shot wide.

Late in the third, Chase Haygarth tied things up, getting a shot to squeeze between Kristian Lyon's five-hole. Then, with only 2:14 left in the game, Cole Rafuse, set up by linemates Alec Malo and Donavan Houle-Villeneuve, solved Lyon again. With little time remaining, Flin Flon sat poised to get a big win on the road.

It wouldn't last. With Lyon pulled from the Stars' net, Houle-Villeneuve was hit with a hooking penalty, giving Battlefords 19 seconds of 6-on-4 time to tie things up.

The Stars wouldn't need 19 seconds. After Troy Quinn managed to clear the puck out, Stars captain Matthew Fletcher carried the puck up, rushed into the high slot and ripped a wrist shot right past Jacob Delorme with seven seconds left on the clock, tying the game at three all and forcing overtime.

In overtime, the Bombers would get hit by the whistle again - this time, Hirst got sent to the box on a hooking call. Less than a minute later, with a man up, the Stars ended the night. Jaxon Steele pounced on a rebound, firing it past Delorme and giving the Stars a 2-0 series lead.

Delorme made 36 saves in the loss, while Lyon made 37. Easton Haygarth ended the night with a pair of assists.

The series will now turn, virtually at least, to Flin Flon for Games 3 and 4 in the series. The games will be streamed on The Reminder's Twitch page at twitch.tv/ffreminder and full post-game wrapups will be available on The Reminder's website.

A full broadcast of the game can be found here.

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