Some wins just feel good. Some wins make statements. The Bombers' 6-2 victory over first-place Melfort Friday night did both.
Flin Flon won against a team that had bullied them at points this season - including in their last game - with a strong first two periods and a dambreak of offence. With veteran forward Keefe Gruener back in the lineup after a month away due to injury and two former major junior players - goalie Matthew Kieper and forward Leighton Carruthers - playing their first games at the Whitney Forum, the Bombers seemed poised for big things.
Melfort opened the night with some fast chances on Kieper, but it was Flin Flon who'd open the scoring. A missed pass by a Mustang defender gave Carter Anderson a wide-open breakaway from his own blueline, waltzing in untouched and burying a backhander past a discombobulated Kristian Coombs.
Flin Flon extended the lead when Rhett Ewen, open near the net, redirected a shot toward Coombs and got it through Coombs. Ewen got his first goal as a Bomber and Flin Flon extended their lead to 2-0. Melfort had the balance of chances in the first, outshooting Flin Flon early on, but the Bombers led 2-0 where it mattered after 20.
The dam broke for the Bombers in the second period, where after weeks of bad bounces and abysmal puck luck, everything finally came together. Barely a minute into the second, Anderson blew the doors off with a slap shot that Coombs had little chance on. Anderson's ninth of the season extended the lead to three.
Yet more chances came later on, with Anthony Piccininno chipping in a rebound near Coombs on a powerplay to make it 4-0 Flin Flon. Coombs got the sympathy pull from Mustangs coach Trevor Blevins following the goal, heading to the bench after giving up four goals on 14 shots - Madden Mulawka would head to the crease and play out the game.
Things began getting chippy with the Bombers ahead four - Nolan Roberts, already familiar to Bomber fans for a series of huge hits during the two teams' games, got called after checking Ryder Mucha from behind, while Nick Andrusiak and Carter Anderson each got the gate for a collision between the two that sent Anderson careening into Mulawka. Kaleb Binner dazed Pierce Yakimchuk with a high hit that all four on-ice officials missed.
Other chances came in the frame, with Carruthers almost getting his first as a Bomber on a one-timer, but his stick snapped on the shot, killing the chance. The Bombers nearly had a scary moment as a puck wrung around the board nearly nailed Kenny Marquart in the head on the bench - the goalie made a save even without playing, losing his helmet but otherwise staying unharmed.
Reilley Kotai finally got Melfort on the board with a redirect in the slot, but the Bombers would not waste time to restore the four-goal lead - Reid Arberry caught Mulawka napping with a snapper off a faceoff that went post and in, with the goalie barely even moving before the shot came in.
The Bombers extended the lead in the final minute of the second, with Ryder Ringor snapping home a one-timer in the slot - right in front of his twin brother, Melfort's Rylan. The two exchanged a couple of slashes and pushes after the goal, but Flin Flon's best period of the season led to a 6-1 lead entering the third.
Melfort only got six shots in the second period, but threw everything they could at Kieper and the Bombers in the third, keeping the puck in Flin Flon's zone. That pressure paid off, with Rylan Ringor getting a goal of his own early in the third, shovelling home a backhander at the side of the goal during 4-on-4 play. While the pressure kept up, the Bombers stood tall and Kieper made a few big saves. The Bomber offence wouldn't manage anything else - but crucially, neither would Melfort's. The Bombers moved to 7-9-1-0 on the season and beat the Mustangs for the second time this season.
Kieper got the win in his first-ever Bomber start - the former WHL veteran stopped 23 of 25 shots on the night. Coombs was stuck with the loss for Melfort, while Mulawka had 10 saves in relief. Every Bomber forward but one got at least a point on the night - the sole man off the scoresheet, Carter Cormier, came close to getting there but wouldn't make it, despite chances in the third period.
The win by itself won't be enough to pull the Bombers back into the SJHL's playoff race - the team still sits ninth out of 12 with 15 points, three behind Kindersley and five behind seventh-place La Ronge, who also won Friday night.
The Bombers will play again Saturday on the road against Nipawin.
