The magic ran out for the Bombers Friday night, losing to Pickering and being eliminated from the Centennial Cup in a 3-2 double overtime heartbreaker.
In the Bombers' third overtime game of the tournament, the club was handed their first loss in extra time since Estevan beat them in Game 5, stopping the team short of a national title opportunity.
Flin Flon started off hot early, buzzing the crease of Panthers' netminder Zachary Roy. Cole Duperreault almost got the best of Roy with a tipped Rylan Thiessen point shot, but it dribbled just wide. Later in the frame, Pickering's Dustin Hutton took a tripping call in stopping Brett Wieschorster from coming in on Roy alone, putting the Bombers on the powerplay.
Entering the game, the Bombers' powerplay had been woeful so far in the tournament, scoring three times on a whopping 25 chances. That would change up midway through the first with Hutton in the box, as Jacob Vockler got his stick on the ice near Roy and shovelled the puck in.
Pickering would have chances later in the first, including a breakaway by forward Lucas Rowe, but Bomber netminder Cal Schell made the save. Rowe argued for a penalty on a Bomber backchecker, but none was called. The Panthers would keep up momentum late, with a point shot by Pickering captain Brandon Tomilson getting through traffic, but Schell stood tall and the Bombers would get out of the first with a 1-0 lead.
Momentum would be mixed through the start of the second period, but the Panthers would continue a parade to the penalty box. After a hooking call to the Ontario champs, Vockler took a shot from the sideboards and it pinballed off Tomilson's stick and up and over Roy, making it 2-0 Flin Flon.
It would then be the Bombers' turn to head to the penalty box - first a tripping call for Xavier Lapointe, then a penalty to Cory King after he knocked Pickering's Ethan Lindsay off his skates on a breakaway. More penalties would be called for both teams soon after though, nullifying any advantage for the Panthers.
Wieschorster had a prime opportunity on a shorthanded breakaway midway through the frame, but the puck rolled on him and went fluttering over the net. More chances would come late, as the Bombers would get Roy swimming in the crease on a late powerplay.
Pickering would encounter some drama late in the second, when Panther Matthew Altomare and Flin Flon's Drew Kuzma collided near Roy and sent the 6-foot-4 forward falling onto Roy. The goalie would require a few moments to recover, but would stay in the game.
The Panthers would break Schell's shutout with a goal in the final minutes of the second, as Altomare and Ethan Doyle set Hutton up near the goal for a shorthanded marker, bringing Pickering within one of the Bombers.
Hutton forced the Bombers' hand late in the period, drawing a tripping call in the dying seconds. While the Bombers would leave the second with a 2-1 lead, the Panthers left the period with a powerplay. Rowe cross-checked Lapointe in the face after the final whistle, but penalties would be assessed to both teams and the Panthers would start the third with a man up.
The Bombers would start the period hot, with Kuzma wiring a shot on Roy early and testing the goalie, who made a big save. After that though, the Panthers would immediately go into full powerplay mode, but the Bombers would kill off that and another two penalties early in the third.
When the powerplay pendulum swung back to the Bombers, Roy stoned Vockler and Smith cold seconds apart on golden chances. Roy made several big stops, only for Pickering to take another penalty immediately after.
While there would be another goal during Flin Flon's man advantage, the Bombers wouldn't score it. Altomare picked the puck up shorthanded and fired a shot that just trickled through Schell and into the net, tying the game.
The Bombers would then work to get momentum, but Vockler would be taken down awkwardly in the high slot soon after and would hobble back to the bench. Hutton would get a chance in transition for the Panthers right after, but Schell got his mojo back just in time to stop the shot.
Schell would defuse a tense situation with less than four minutes to go, saving chances with the puck in the slot, before the Bombers would take the puck back in transition. Following a Bomber shot, Tomilson would push Vockler into Roy, leading to a fracas in the crease and punches thrown by the Panthers - offsetting penalties would be called with just over three minutes left on the clock in a tied game, with Vockler sent to the box for Flin Flon and Tomilson still out on the ice for the Panthers.
With less than a minute to go, the Bombers would set up in the offensive zone and get several chances, but nothing would come from it.
For the third time in the tournament, the Bombers would be going to overtime - this time, for playoff-style 5-on-5 continuous OT instead of the five minutes or less of 3-on-3 and a shootout that the Bombers were familiar with in the preliminary round.
The Bombers' first chance of the extra frame was a redirect opportunity that would bounce wide and take the Panthers' net off its moorings. From there, both teams traded momentum, with defence keeping most chances away from dangerous areas.
Smith would get a good chance on Roy, but could not force Roy into making a mistake. The Panthers would turn the puck over near the net, giving the Bombers possession and a quick pair of chances, with no success. A 3-on-2 rush about seven minutes in did not end with a Flin Flon shot on goal.
Drew Kuzma would get a partial break and broke through the Pickering defence about eight minutes in, but could not finish. Later on, a set play off a faceoff by the Panthers generated a great chance for Pickering, but Schell would make both a save on the initial shot and on a rebound.
Other opportunities would come for the Bombers - a Matt Raymond sideboard blast, Jeremi Tremblay in front of the net and yet more, but none would end the game for Flin Flon.
With 46 seconds to go in the first overtime period, Pickering forward Jake Partridge was given a penalty. Up to that point, all four goals scored on the evening took place on Bomber powerplays - two Bomber powerplay markers and two shorthanded goals from Pickering. Regardless, neither team could end the game after one period - double overtime would be required.
At the start of double overtime, the Bombers' powerplay could not gain purchase and Pickering would kill the penalty off. Hutton would get the first big chance of double OT, picking Jaxon Martens' pocket and coming in on Schell, who made a huge save.
In the end, it would be Pickering who would end the game and the Bombers' season. Cael Cavallin would get the puck off a failed clearing attempt by Lapointe and golf it towards Schell, with the puck bouncing past the goalie and into the net, ending the game.
On video inspection of the goal, Cavallin kept the puck onside after the clearing attempt, picking it up on the blue line. Pickering forward Ethan Lindsay may have gotten a stick on the puck (at above crossbar height, which could have made the play an illegal high stick) but the game would be over regardless.
The Panthers will move on to the tournament semifinals where they will face the MJHL champion Dauphin Kings. The top-seeded Brooks Bandits will play the winner of the late game (even later than expected, due to overtime) - either Summerside or Longueuil.
The loss signals the end of eight Bombers' junior A careers - goalie Schell, defenders Rylan Thiessen and Cole Vardy and forwards Mason Kaspick, Matt Raymond, Gabriel Shipper, Zak Smith and Brett Wieschorster.
The Bombers will end their tournament run as the last SJHL team standing and the only one to make it to the playoff round. The Bruins did not reach the playoff round after going 1-0-3-0 through their four games, including a 10-5 home ice beatdown from the same Pickering team that the Bombers took 12 rounds Friday.
