The Flin Flon Bombers are second round bound.
Flin Flon knocked off the Battlefords North Stars in Game 6 of their first round playoff series with a commanding 6-2 victory.
A crowd of 1,350 people came to the Whitney Forum to watch the pivotal game and got involved in matters early - when the rink had a PA system failure at the start of the game, fans opened the night by singing "O Canada" a capella, ending in a smattering of joyful noise.
Several Bombers also received division honours from outgoing SJHL commissioner Bill Chow pre-game - Jeremi Tremblay was named the Sherwood Division's top rookie, while Xavier Lapointe was named the division's top defenceman. Cal Schell skated away with double hardware, receiving both the division's top goalie and most valuable player honours.
With the festivities done, the Bombers got to work early. About seven minutes in, Drew Kuzma found the net behind Battlefords goalie Michael Harroch, opening the scoring. Zak Smith got on the board shortly after, capitalizing on a two-on-one with Jaxon Martens.
The Stars would close the gap, scoring late in the first on one of the game's few powerplays. A Dylan Esau shot from the sidewall snuck past Schell, making it 2-1 after 20 minutes.
Battlefords would tie it up in the second period, with Keiton Klein being Johnny-on-the-spot for a rebound from a sudden corner shot and sliding it through Schell's five-hole. The Bombers would almost score another goal, but the puck stayed on the Battleford goal line and the referees signalled "no goal".
Lapointe and the Stars' Zane Florence would both go off later in the period for unsportsmanlike conduct, leading to more jawing between the two in the penalty box and Florence flipping the bird to a section of Bomber fans behind the box.
It would be the Bombers getting the best of the ensuing four-on-four play though, with Jacob Vockler scoring what would prove to be the game- and series-winner with both players in the box. Shortly after, Flin Flon's Brett Wieschorster came into the zone in time for the Stars' Tynan Ewart to fall over backwards and blow his coverage, allowing Wieschorster to come in and beat Harroch, giving Flin Flon a 4-2 lead.
Gabriel Shipper added insurance in the third, being sprung on a breakaway and beating Harroch post-in to make it 5-2. The Stars, like they did in Game 5, pulled Harroch with time to spare in the third - with over five minutes to go - to give an extra lat advantage. With about a minute left, Bomber D-man Lucas Fry fired the puck into the yawning cage for his first-ever Bomber goal - Fry had gone oh-fer in 49 games leading up to Sunday night. Mason Kaspick fished the puck out of the net while the Bomber faithful started up a series of "na-na na nah, na-na na nah, hey hey hey, goodbye" chants at the Stars.
The buzzer sounded and both teams shook hands in playoff tradition - the moose legs hit the Forum ice uncontested and the Bombers saluted the crowd at centre ice.
Schell made 40 saves for his and the team's fourth consecutive win, while Harroch stopped 30 shots.
Elsewhere in the league, three of the SJHL's four spots in the second round have been spoken for. Estevan eliminated the Notre Dame Hounds Saturday night in Game 5 of their series, booking their spot, while the Humboldt Broncos did the same Sunday against La Ronge with a 5-3 Game 6 win. There is now only one game remaining in the round - a Game 7 between Yorkton and Melfort, to be played in Melfort Tuesday night. The Mustangs, who went into their Game 6 with Yorkton down 3-2 in the series, won 5-3 to stay alive.
Playoff seedings for the second round will depend on the outcome of that Game 7. If Yorkton wins, the sixth-seeded Terriers would be the lowest remaining seed in the playoffs, putting them up against the first-seed Estevan Bruins and setting up a Bombers-Broncos series. If Melfort wins, the Bombers will be the lowest seed left, setting up Melfort playing Humboldt and Estevan facing the Bombers.
