The Bombers got back into winning ways with a cathartic 6-3 home W over Melfort Friday.
In front of a raucous Whitney Forum crowd, the Bombers snagged the lead in the first and hung on until the final whistle, beating the division rival Mustangs for the first time this season.
The team hosted Minor Hockey Night Friday, with players from all local house league teams coming out onto the ice before the game for a salute from the fans. The three Flin Flon-area Bombers, Joey Lies, Ryder Mucha and Wyatt Stinton, posed for photos with the group before the game began - all three grew up playing minor hockey in the system, just like the featured kids.
Melfort sought to spoil the party early, with Danton Cox coming in on a breakaway, taking advantage of a blown Bomber coverage, then beating goalie Massimo Urbani - it was 1-0 Melfort within two minutes of the opening whistle.
There was no love lost between the two teams who faced each other in last season's SJHL final, with Melfort winning the physical battles early but the Bomber offence overpowering the Mustangs as the first wore on. Mucha had a golden chance on Melfort goalie Kristian Coombs, corralling a bounce off the Forum's back boards, but couldn't fire it home - meanwhile, Melfort captain Ty Thornton nailed Leo Seitz with a headshot, giving the Bombers a powerplay they couldn't capitalize on.
The Bombers finally tied the game up late in the first, with one of the hometown boys tying the game up. With Carter Cormier winning a puck battle in the corner, he shovelled the puck out to the front of Melfort's net - where rookie forward Wyatt Stinton was waiting. Stinton redirected it home, scoring his first goal in a Bomber sweater. The Whitney Forum never gets louder than it does when a hometown boy scores - in front of friends, family and dozens of kids not much younger than he on minor hockey night, Stinton's first junior goal blew the roof off and tied the game up.
Flin Flon pushed the pace for the rest of the period, with Carter Anderson very nearly giving Flin Flon the lead, coming in on a partial break and firing a pinpoint wrist shot top corner. An official next to the goal immediately signaled "no goal", but the goal judge's light glowed red and Anderson celebrated as if he'd scored. Video replay of the play showed that Anderson's shot hit the crossbar and went out - while the Bomber faithful wouldn't like it, the official ruling was "no goal".
That lead-clinching goal would come not long after though, courtesy of Koen Senft, who crashed the net and had the puck bounce off of him and into the goal behind Coombs. While Melfort raised a stink following the play, with defenceman Nolan Roberts immediately dogpiling onto the forward after the whistle, the goal stood and Senft gave Flin Flon the lead - one they would hang on to going into the break, up 2-1.
Flin Flon's momentum continued with Anderson scoring for real this time, picking up the puck in the corner and dangling out Coombs, scoring a goal impossible to wave off and pimping out the celebration for the Bomber fans. Not long after on a powerplay, Anderson hit the net again, getting loose, taking a pass from Ryder Ringor near the goal and tapping it home, making it 4-1 Bombers.
While the Bombers dominated possession in the second, they didn't generate as many chances late in the period, giving Melfort a chance to claw one back. A quick pass from the point that got to Kaleb Binner was just what the Mustangs needed, with Binner finishing it off by guiding a rebound past Urbani. Flin Flon's lead was cut to two, but they still entered the third up 4-2.
Later in the third, the Bombers got set in the offensive zone and eventually made it work, with Senft walking into the zone and bombing one high past Coombs and into the net. Melfort's Zayden Sadlemyer had a snipe of his own for the Mustangs later in the third, picking a corner on Urbani, but the Mustangs would never come closer.
Coombs was pulled from the net with just under three minutes left and with his hat-trick bid still unfinished, Anderson made a beeline for the open net. That got the attention of Melfort's Reilley Kotai, who made a beeline for Anderson and drew a charging penalty - that, combined with a period of shouting at the refs after the call, earned Kotai an early trip to the showers.
Moments later, the Bombers almost clinched it with an empty-netter by Ringor from the neutral zone - that was called dead and a "no goal" call, as a Bomber player was about 30 feet offside when Ringor scored. Not to be denied, Flin Flon clinched it anyway with Cormier putting in an empty netter from way downtown soon after, taking a late hit from Melfort's Nick Andrusiak for good measure.
Cormier's goal, his first in the Whitney Forum, gave the Bombers a 6-3 advantage. The result was wrapped up with 50 seconds to go - but the final horn hadn't gone.
Unable to get a win on the scoreboard, a few of the Mustangs tried getting a win in the alley - Cox took his best attempt by picking a fight with Flin Flon's Rhett Ewen. It wasn't the wisest decision made Friday night in Flin Flon - Ewen is four inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than Cox and the Bomber flat-out beat Cox up, getting more punches and the takedown in a fight that ended with Cox's blood spattered on the Whitney Forum ice.
More rough stuff would take place in the final moments, with players getting tangled up in the Bomber end, but Flin Flon would still hand Melfort their second regulation loss of the season.
Urbani stopped 27 shots for the win, his fourth as a Bomber, while Coombs made 34 saves in the loss.
The two teams will go for round two Saturday night, this time in Melfort.
