It took a shootout to do it, but the Bombers took down Dauphin 2-1 Tuesday night and punched their ticket to the Centennial Cup's playoff round.
Flin Flon snagged their third win in four games in extra time, confirming at least a top three finish in the team's pool and moving on.
The Bombers would get a pair of early powerplays and make good on the second, with Jacob Vockler firing one from the sideboards and beating Kings netminder Carson Cherepak five-hole. While the Kings got into penalty trouble early in the first, the Bombers would start their own parade to the box later in the period, but would kill off a pair of powerplays. Cal Schell would withstand a Kings onslaught late in the first, sending the Bombers to the dressing room with a 1-0 lead.
Dauphin's march to the penalty box would continue in the second, but they tied things up with a man down. Xavier Lapointe turned the puck over, leading to a 2-on-1 for the Kings, where Logan Calder - the younger brother of Estevan Bruin Kian Calder, who scored the Game 7 winner against the Bombers - would tie the game up.
Flin Flon would do their best to fend off Dauphin's attack. Gabriel Shipper would block a point shot and come up hobbling, barely making it to the bench - the forward would stay in the game. Later in the frame, Zak Smith had a golden chance on a breakaway, but couldn't slide the puck under Cherepak. The Bombers would own possession for large chunks of the second, but Cherepak would prove up to the task.
The Bombers would end up back on the PK after a big hit by Vockler on Dauphin's Aidan Brook, but Calder would even things up not long after with another big hit on Cory King. Once Vockler's penalty expired, the Bombers would go up 5-on-3, but despite several chances, Cherepak would stand tall. Flin Flon would take another penalty shortly after, but would survive the period with a 1-1 tie intact.
That penalty would be killed off and the third period would see more back and forth play, with some good chances for the Bombers and Kings down the stretch. Jaxon Martens and Jaeden Mercier each had great chances in the middle of the frame, but Cherepak would, again, make the saves, including on a point-blank Martens chance with moments left. Parker Malchuk would dump Shipper after the whistle in front of an official, who kept their whistle silent.
With less than a minute remaining, both teams would once again exchange chances. With less than 15 seconds to go, the Bombers would win a faceoff on their side of the red line back and retreat, dumping the puck over the glass with two seconds left, setting up one more chance for the Kings - the Bombers would collapse on the biscuit and, for the second time in the tournament, take a game to overtime.
Three-on-three OT would be the name of the game - the Bombers would send out Drew Kuzma, Jaeden Mercier and Lapointe. Flin Flon would get a prime 2-on-1 chance with Kuzma and Lapointe, followed moments later with a Mercier chance in front, but neither would work. Vockler fired one on net that he thought went in - even celebrating as if it had - but the puck hit the post and play continued. The officials would confer after the next whistle and look again, but nothing changed.
On the other side of the ice, Dauphin's Kaden Bryant would be stopped by Schell, while another Bomber 2-on-1, this time with Kuzma and Rylan Thiessen, was foiled not once, but twice by Cherepak. Calder would return a chance for Dauphin, only for Lapointe to block it. Thiessen had two more chances late in overtime, but Cherepak would stop both shots.
With the Bombers' playoff hopes hanging in the balance, five minutes of 3-on-3 would not provide answers. A shootout, for the first time in the tournament, would be needed.
Mercier would shoot first for the Bombers, turning Cherepak inside-out with a toe drag to get Flin Flon on the board. Bryant would start for Dauphin and would fumble the puck.
Flin Flon's second shooter would be Lapointe, who went high blocker on Cherepak and missed wide. Nakodan Greyeyes would head out next for Dauphin and score, tying the shootout.
Vockler would go third for the Bombers, sliding the puck through Cherepak's five-hole and putting the Bombers back up.
Logan Calder would be the Kings' final hope in the shootout, but Schell would come up huge, making a pad save for the win and clinching a playoff spot for Flin Flon.
Calder would be the Kings' player of the game - Schell would get the honours for the home side, making 26 saves. Cherepak would get stuck with the L, despite a 40 save performance for Dauphin.
Standings
The victory gives the Bombers seven points - three for a regulation win over Soo, two for an overtime W against Ottawa, two for the shootout victory against the Kings and none for a loss to Summerside. Dauphin also has seven points, with one more game left to play. Both teams will move on to the next round - as of Tuesday night, that puts the Bombers on top of the group.
Ottawa and Summerside play Wednesday in a game with playoff implications for only themselves. If Summerside wins, they will finish pool play with nine points, putting them at least second in the pool, while Ottawa would finish with four and go home. If Ottawa wins, they will tie with the Bombers with seven points, jump ahead of Summerside's six and send the PEI entrants home. Even if the game goes into overtime, the Bombers are assured a spot. A Summerside overtime win would give the Capitals eight points and Ottawa five, while an Ottawa OT win would give them six points, not enough to beat the Bombers.
Where in the pool the Bombers will finish is not known. Flin Flon could finish either first, second or third in the group. That all depends on the results of Ottawa-Summerside and Dauphin-Soo Wednesday.
If Soo beats Dauphin in regulation, the Bombers will finish ahead of the Kings - both are tied at seven points but the Bombers now hold a tiebreaker. If Ottawa beats Summerside, they will finish with seven points, tied with the Bombers - who, again, hold a tiebreaker. Wins by Soo and Ottawa would put the Bombers first in the group, which would give them a bye to the semifinals.
Any points finish for Dauphin would put them ahead of the Bombers - a win over Soo clinches them as first spot in the group. A Summerside win would put them over the Bombers in points.
In the other pool, three teams have clinched spots in the next round - the Brooks Bandits, Pickering Panthers and College Francais Longueuil will all move on. Longueuil punched their ticket with a win over Red Lake, ending their tournament and ending the hopes for Estevan, who are now too far back to catch up to the top three teams.
