Someone call the fire department—the Bombers are red hot. The team won 5-2 on the road against Nipawin Saturday night, their sixth win in a row.
Flin Flon's winning ways continued with their third consecutive weekend sweep, getting their second win of the weekend against the SJHL's lowest squad in the standings.
The Bombers got on the board on a powerplay midway through the first, with the team captain getting his first of the season - a wrister by Cole Tanchuk got through a crowd and past goalie Gage Roberts, opening the scoring. Tanchuk's goal was the difference entering the second.
The lead would be extended barely a minute into the second, when Carter Anderson banked a pass off Hawk defender Justus Cutler - still in the lineup despite a third-man-in fight Friday night - and into the Nipawin net. Anderson's goal extended a point streak to nine games and a goal streak to seven games - his 14 markers on the season put him first in the SJHL goal scoring race.
Nipawin stopped the bleeding soon after, breaking Matt Kieper's shutout on a rebound by Van Taylor, but the Hawks would never get closer. Tanchuk reestablished the maroon and white's two goal lead with a second goal midway through the period, once again on a powerplay, sneaking in behind the play and beating Roberts cleanly.
The Bombers owned the puck through most of the game, but while Nipawin laid it on as thick as they could on Kieper in the second, it was no use. Anthony Piccininno made it a 4-1 game with five minutes left in the frame, putting a rebound in through Roberts' pads. Flin Flon led 4-1 going into the final period.
The Hawks' offence mostly dried up in the third, with the Bombers continuing the onslaught early. Leo Seitz got the Bombers' kid line on the board moments into the final period, breaking into the zone and ripping one bar down on Roberts through traffic. Hawks captain Finley Radloff would cut that lead to three, ripping home a wrister, but all that did was make the final score look a tad nicer for the league's worst team.
Kieper stopped 33 of 35 Nipawin shots he faced, earning win number four for the Bombers since he joined late last month. Roberts, who held the Bombers' offence in check Friday, didn't see lightning strike twice - he made 50 saves, but was stuck with the loss.
The Bombers are guaranteed at least a tie in the season series between the two clubs, having won four games against Nipawin this year. While games between the two teams have been close in the past, the rivalry has gone entirely Flin Flon's way in recent years - Flin Flon has now won 14 consecutive games over the Hawks over the last three seasons.
The last win the Hawks had over the Bombers was on Sept. 17, 2022, 26 months ago. That game was the first road game of Harmon Laser-Hume's time as a Bomber, facing a Nipawin team that had traded him to Flin Flon just days earlier - Laser-Hume never lost to his old team again and the team has kept that streak alive.
With the victory, the Bombers moved further into the SJHL playoff picture, out of one logjam and into another one. After Friday's games, the Bombers were in a four-way tie for sixth place. After Saturday, Flin Flon sits in a four-way tie for fifth place, joining Humboldt, La Ronge and Melville with 25 points. The Bombers sit fifth as of Saturday, thanks to the SJHL's tiebreaker system.
Out of those four teams, the SJHL uses regulation and overtime wins as a tiebreaker - Flin Flon and La Ronge both have 12, while Humboldt and Melville have 11. From there, the second tiebreak is head-to-head points - the Bombers pull ahead of La Ronge there, with three of a possible four points from a win and OT loss earlier this season.
The Bombers are also within striking distance of higher spots in the standings too - just one point back of both Yorkton and Battlefords, tied for third place, just two points back of second-place Weyburn.
Flin Flon's hot streak will be put to the test next week, with the Bombers at home against third-place Yorkton Nov. 30. The Bombers, with a win, would go undefeated through November and extend their winning streak to seven. Eight games remain until the holiday break for the Bombers, with five of those taking place at the Whitney Forum.
