The Bombers are in a tight spot. The team dropped Game 3 4-1 to Weyburn Tuesday night, going down 3-0 in the series and putting Flin Flon at risk of a sweep.
Flin Flon lost their third consecutive game and will need a historic comeback to keep their season alive. Ethan DeKay got things going for the Wings midway through the first, forcing a Flin Flon turnover in the Bombers' own zone then coming in alone on Matt Kieper, beating him with a quick move. The Bombers got some shots on the Wings' Angelo Zol, but weren't able to tie things up - the Wings, playing at home, entered the second up one.
The game was close through 20 minutes, but it wouldn't stay that way. When the Bombers chipped the puck into the Red Wings' zone early in the second, the home team pounced, catching Flin Flon off-guard on the counterattack, with Jerome Maharaj and Jaxson Ruthven beating coverage. Maharaj got the puck, sent a saucer pass over to Ruthven and the forward made no mistake, batting it home past Kieper.
Moments later, the Wings struck again, once again jumping on a loose puck fired out by the Bombers. Liam Hunks beat a WIng to the puck in a foot race and tried shovelling it backward out of the zone, but instead it went right ot DeKay, who walked into the slot and beat Kieper top corner unassisted. In just two minutes, Weyburn stretched the lead out to three and the Bombers were down deep.
Flin Flon dominated possession in the third and threw tons of shots at Zol, finally snapping his shutout bid with a late powerplay goal from Leighton Carruthers in front, but the Wings would still hand Flin Flon the L on the night - DeKay finished his hat-trick with a long-distance empty netter, putting the Bombers in a world of hurt.
Zol stopped 45 of 46 Bomber shots on the game to deliver a win for the home team, while Kieper stopped 32 chances from the Wings.
Flin Flon will have to hang on for dear life if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. In the nearly-century-long history of the Bombers, the team has never successfully come back from a 3-0 playoff series deficit to win. They will have to do just that if they hope to make another SJHL final, starting with Game 4 in Weyburn Wednesday night. A win will force a Game 5 back home at the Whitney Forum on Saturday - a loss will end the Bombers' season.
Meanwhile, the other SJHL semifinal series is also a 3-0 affair - Melfort dispatched Yorkton 4-3 as the series moved to Yorkton, putting the Terriers in their own unenviable position ahead of a Wednesday night Game 4.
