The first night of The Reminder’s SJHL playoff simulation went to the underdogs.
Flin Flon and Melfort squared off at a virtual Whitney Forum Saturday night, while the La Ronge Ice Wolves did the same against the Battlefords North Stars.
The Bombers and Mustangs dropped the puck to officially begin the second round to a typically raucous Bombers home crowd, but Melfort shut the fans up early. After a Bomber turnover in the offensive zone, Mustang Tian Rask snagged the puck and headed in on a clear breakaway, beating Jacob Delorme stick side.
On the first shot of the game and of the series, Melfort grabbed a 1-0 lead.
Both teams traded chances until halfway through the first, when a Melfort tripping penalty put the Bombers’ lethal powerplay on the ice. Coming into the Mustangs’ zone, Alec Malo drew two Melfort defenders to the far side before finding an open Cole Rafuse, who snuck the puck past Melfort’s Shawn Parkinson.
Rafuse’s goal, what would have been his sixth goal in five playoff games, would tie things up heading into the first intermission.
Melfort would find the net next thanks to a tip-in by Kyle Bosch, who got the last touch on a pinball Alex Rondeau point shot that hit a defender’s tick and Bosch before fluttering up and over Delorme.
The Mustangs, now with a one goal lead, slowed play down from here on out. The Bombers still got a number of quality chances but couldn’t make good. Troy Quinn, poised for a one-timer after a sweet seam pass, had his stick snap on impact with the puck. Tristan Lemyre had a chance next to Parkinson scuttled when a Mustang defender tipped it away.
Finally, with Delorme on the bench, Rondeau fired in an empty netter with 33 seconds to go to ice a 3-1 Game 1 win for Melfort.
Delorme made 33 saves on the night, while Parkinson stood tall in the final 40 minutes, making 45 saves total.
The Mustangs, who led the season series with the Bombers 5-1, will take a 1-0 series lead heading into Game 2 Monday.
Battlefords-La Ronge
The other game of the night took place on the other side of Saskatchewan, with Battlefords taking on the visiting La Ronge Ice Wolves.
La Ronge, coming off an exhausting seven-game series with Yorkton, did not appear tired or rusty, but the Stars struck first. Matthias Urbanski opened the scoring on the powerplay with a high-slot wrist shot, fed by both the Loon-Stewardson brothers.
Seconds after the score, Urbanski poke-checked a La Ronge defender and almost got a second goal, but was stopped by Ice Wolves goalie Liam McGarva. McGarva, playing his first game back after a month-long suspension late in the season, flashed the leather on Urbanski after a close wrister.
The Stars entered the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.
Battlefords almost doubled the lead with a point shot by Noah Form, but the goal was immediately waved off. Form’s shot was tipped in front by forward Carson Reagan, who was deemed to have used a high stick on the play.
La Ronge was able to tie the game up late in the second with a goal by Booker Chacalias, who tipped in a cross-crease pass by rookie Spencer Kennedy from the corner. The Wolves almost grabbed a lead of their own moments later, but a loose puck in front of Stars goalie Kristian Lyon was knocked away by the goalie.
In the third period, La Ronge came out with a vengeance, pelting Lyon with shots. Finally, another cross-crease play got the Wolves the lead. Stewart Pond, perched near the Battlefords faceoff dots, found Daylon Mannon through traffic and Mannon beat Lyon far side, giving the Ice Wolves a 2-1 cushion.
Battlefords would tie things up courtesy of Ben Hiltz, pouncing on a rebound in front and making it a 2-2 game with seven minutes to go. Despite a flurry of late chances both ways, neither team was able to poke ahead within 60 minutes. Overtime would be needed.
The winner came from the stick of La Ronge’s Nolan Spadafore. With the Ice Wolves set up, Spadafora stepped into the high slot and fired, sneaking the puck through traffic and past Lyon five minutes into bonus hockey.
The Ice Wolves took a 1-0 series lead with the 3-2 OT victory. McGarva made 53 saves in his return to the goal for the winners, while Lyon stopped 35 shots on the evening.
Game 2 between the two sides is scheduled, along with the Bombers/Mustangs series, to be played Monday night.
Notes
After the first games of the second round, Cole Rafuse has remained at the top of the league playoff scoring race. Rafuse scored the Bombers’ only goal in their first game and (including real playoff totals) has six goals and six assists in only five games. Donavan Houle-Villeneuve sits second among remaining players in scoring despite not getting a point, while Battlefords’ Seth Summers and Ben Hiltz with La Ronge’s Spencer Kennedy, Nolan Spadafore and Stewart Pond each sit tied with seven points each.
Shawn Parkinson remains the class of the league’s goalie ranks. Between the four real games played by Parkinson and Game 1 against Flin Flon, the towering ‘tender has only given up seven goals in five games.
