Game 1 of The Reminder's SJHL final simulation did not have the result the Bombers would have hoped for. Starting the series on enemy ice, the Battlefords North Stars stood tall for a 5-1 win.
Matthias Urbanski opened the scoring for Battlefords late in the first, beating netminder Jacob Delorme stick side, just under the blocker, with a quick backhander. Flin Flon got 18 shots in the first period, but the Stars defence kept the shots to the outside, keeping Kristian Lyon protected from potentially dangerous plays.
With the Stars ahead 1-0 after 20, emotions boiled over between Flin Flon's Hayden Clayton and Logan Spence of the Stars. Clayton, weighing in at 6-foot-4, 210, took Spence - 5-foot-9 and 190 pounds - to the ice
That momentum boost didn't last long. Ben Hiltz took a feed from Quintin Loon-Stewardson in the slot and capitalized, beating Delorme to give Battlefords a 2-0 lead.
Flin Flon showed some life not long after, with Clayton firing a hard wrister over Lyon's outstretched glove hand, but Loon-Stewardson restored Battlefords' two goal lead by beating Delorme late in the period.
In the third period, the Bombers got perhaps their best chance, getting a 5-on-3 for over a minute and a half, but the Stars defence not only shut down the two-man advantage but a penalty taken immediately afterward. Loon-Stewardson scored his second of the night on a slapshot from the top of the faceoff dot later in the period, then Flin Flon Minor Hockey product Rylan Nivon put salt in the wound, getting a partial breakaway and beating Delorme high with 1:30 left on the clock.
The Bombers outdid the Stars in the shot count, outshooting the home team 48-40, but Lyon made 47 saves on the night compared to Delorme's 35 save performance.
Each of the game's automated three stars on the night were from the Stars - Lyon, Loon-Stewardson who finished with two goals and an assist and Urbanski, with a goal and an assist.
Flin Flon and the Stars will face off in Game 2 of the simulation May 2. A full stream of the game can be found at twitch.tv/ffreminder.
