Wednesday night brought Game 3s in both league semifinal series in The Reminder's SJHL playoff simulation. The Bombers, who had been held to just two goals in the first two games, exploded on offence, while Battlefords and La Ronge battled once again.
Flin Flon entered the game down 2-0 in the series after a pair of close games at the Forum where Melfort goaltender Shawn Parkinson stopped all but a few shots.
The Bombers, tired of being stymied, scored early and often in this contest. Donavan Houle-Villeneuve got the ball rolling within the first two minutes, pouncing on a puck that squirted loose from a skirmish in front. Alec Malo scored on a power-play one-timer moments later to give Flin Flon a 2-0 lead.
Matt Raymond scored on a slapshot 30 feet from the net, beating Parkinson high, then Hayden Clayton scored a minute later after being set up by Caleb Franklin and potting his own rebound.
Barely halfway through the first period, the Bombers were up 4-0 on the Mustangs. Matt Flodell almost made it five, scoring on a rebound, but the goal was waved off after officials deemed there was goalie interference on the play.
In the second period, Adam Nobes got the Stangs on the board, then Ben Tkachuk caught Jacob Delorme off-guard with a change-up shot that bobbled in, down and past the Bomber goalie.
Heading into the third with a 4-2 lead, the Bombers stomped the gas pedal for the final 20. Cole Rafuse got in the goal column with a high-slot snipe, while Franklin got on the board with a backhand whack past Parkinson.
Everything seemed to be going Flin Flon’s way – when Melfort’s Tian Rask managed to steal a pass from a Bomber defender and went in on a breakaway, his stick snapped when he tried to shoot, allowing a backchecker to spring Rafuse on a breakaway of his own.
With only a handful of seconds left on the clock, Franklin, in an attempt to catch Parkinson off guard, hit the goalie with a neutral zone slapshot that snuck past him and into the net.
Final score: Flin Flon 7, Melfort 2. While the Mustangs still hold a 2-1 lead in the series, the Bombers were able to score more than three times as many goals in Game 3 than they managed in the first two games combined.
Ice Wolves-North Stars
Meanwhile, staying in the north, the Battlefords North Stars went to face La Ronge, with their series tied after a pair of spectacular games.
The first period was a fast-paced period with 30 shots between the two teams, but nothing on the scoreboard. The most noteworthy moment was arguably the biggest hit of the playoffs so far, when La Ronge’s Logan Holm caught Stars rookie Hunter Partsch in his bombsights and levelled him at the red line. Partsch ended up well behind his own blue line by the time he recovered.
La Ronge opened the scoring early in the second period, thanks to a Stars turnover following an own zone faceoff win. Budai poked the puck free, then found net behind Stars goalie Kristian Lyon.
In the third period, Battleford tied things up on a Matthias Urbanski rebound, then took a 2-1 lead on an Elijah Loon-Stewardson one-timer moments later. La Ronge tied the game back up at two all with a James Philpott wrist shot, but following a penalty from the Ice Wolves, Noah Form gave the Stars a 3-2 lead on a sneaky sideboard wrist shot with less than three minutes to go.
The Stars maintained momentum late and La Ronge, desperate to tie things up, pulled Liam McGarva with a minute left.
For the second straight game, the Ice Wolves scored in the dying seconds. With exactly 1.8 seconds left on the clock, Jake Gudjonson batted in a rebound past Lyon to tie the game 3-3 and send the two sides to overtime for the second time this series.
OT would only last about seven minutes. Urbanski found the puck near McGarva once again, finding the twine, ending the game and giving the Stars a 4-3 win and a 2-1 series lead.
Game 4s in both series will be played Thursday night. Full recaps will be available on thereminder.ca.
