The Bombers didn't just win and re-take the series lead in Game 5 - they sent a message, defeating Humboldt 9-0.
Flin Flon ran away with the go-ahead game in the series in the second period and did not let off the gas, emphatically getting to a 3-2 series lead.
The Broncos came into Game 5 with the momentum, having won both Games 3 and 4 at home in overtime, staving off Bomber comebacks both games. Flin Flon would get three players back from injury for Game 5 - forwards Reid Arberry and Koen Senft and defender Kyle Marsden - but were down a forward with Landon Alexander forced to sit for a one-game suspension. The league's discipline committee assessed him a one-game suspension for a hit on Humboldt's Liam Rodman in Game 5 - Rodman was also out for Game 5.
Both teams started evenly until Flin Flon took the first penalty midway through the first. Humboldt tried to take advantage, but the Bomber penalty kill forced the issue and scored an early backbreaker. The Bombers broke into the zone on an odd-man-rush and Anthony Piccininno fired one past Dazza Mitchell from distance, opening the scoring with a shorthanded goal.
Matt Kieper, coming into Game 5 wanting to make a statement of his own, made a massive save soon after the goal to keep the lead, while the Bombers continued to kill off not only the first penalty but a second one too. Humboldt captain Landon Stromme crashed into Kieper late in the period - no call was assessed as Stromme was knocked off his feet by a Bomber defender - but the goalie stood his ground, the lead still 1-0 Flin Flon entering the second.
Flin Flon broke through in the second frame, starting with a Bomber powerplay that the team converted on. Liam Hunks put a wrister through traffic and it snuck past everyone and Mitchell, extending the lead. That lead grew even more thanks to a pair of affiliate players - Hudson Brehaut fed Eric Han and Han sped in on a break and while Han couldn't finish, Luke Lepper did, making it 3-0. Humboldt's fan contingent, many of whom came up north on a fan bus Saturday morning, were still loud and proud, but the Broncos were still down 3-0.
Carter Cormier got in on the act moments later, shovelling one in past Mitchell after taking a feed in close from Lepper. The Broncos called a timeout, while Mitchell, who saved well over a hundred shots in nine periods of combined work in Games 3 and 4, had given up four goals on 19 shots.
That number would grow. Senft, back in the lineup after missing most of Game 4 after taking a knee from Stromme, capitalized on a 3-on-1 - Mitchell tried to make the save but got no help from his team at all, with Senft popping the puck over him and in. At the mid-period media timeout, the Bombers had more goals in the second period than Humboldt had shots.
The Broncos, now down five, made a late push but couldn't solve Kieper. Another Bomber penalty led to most of the time being spent in Humboldt's own zone, the team unable to advance play.
Tempers started flaring with five minutes to go - Leo Seitz caught Tyce Penrod with a big hit near Humboldt's bench, then Penrod got his own back by drilling Marsden. After a scrum near the benches, both players were sent to the box with roughing calls, the Broncos' Luke Senick got an extra two for cross-checking and the game went on.
Another huge hit came in the final moments of the second. After colliding on the endboards, Keefe Gruener and Kye Benoche got tangled up - Benoche tried to dodge the check but got caught on the boards high, toppling over and falling onto the ice headfirst. Making matters worse, Stromme got nailed nearby by Natan Meunier-Roberge and fell on top of the stricken Benoche. Benoche, the Broncos' leading goalscorer in the series so far, was left sat down dazed on the ice and needed help from his teammates to make it to the dressing room.
Benoche would return to the Bronco bench for the third and took some shifts - Flin Flon came into the final frame up 5-0. Mitchell also returned to the bench, getting the sympathy pull for the final frame - Brady Holtvogt was in net for the final 20 minutes.
The Bombers ran away with the game in the final frame. With a Bronco in the box on a holding call, Flin Flon got the lead up to a touchdown with a Ryder Ringor goal, getting a bounce near the net and scoring on a wide-open goal. The Bombers then added the extra point later in the period, with a local boy getting on the board - Ryder Mucha fought past his defender and got the last whack on an open rebound near Holtvogt, making it 7-0.
Meanwhile, the rough stuff continued. Maddox Amaral tried taking out Rhett Ewen with a knee-on-knee hit - Ewen dodged the worst of it but Amaral got penalized for the check. Ringor got two for cross-checking after already losing his helmet in a check. Penrod tried his best at headhunting Marsden, taking a jump at the defenceman with his elbow out and aimed high midway through the third, but Marsden saw it coming and dodged the hit.
With another Humboldt penalty late, the Bombers hit another powerplay goal, this time with Leo Seitz getting his first playoff goal as a Bomber with a pinpoint wrister from the point. Two more late penalties - a Maddox Amaral high stick and a crosscheck by Tre Fouquette to Ryder Mucha's chops - led to yet another Bomber powerplay, with the affiliate players shining again - a point shot by Brehaut and a tip in front by Han. Whoever got the goal, they got their first SJHL marker and the Bombers would play out the string and earn the victory - Humboldt would head out angry, with Jacob Strizzi smashing a stick to shread on his way to the dressing room.
Kieper earned his second shutout of the series with a 27-save performance. Mitchell made 21 stops through two periods, then Holtvogt got 16 saves in the final frame.
The Bombers and Broncos will face off in Humboldt for Game 6 Monday night - the Broncos will play for their playoff lives, while the Bombers can knock Humboldt out and move on with a win. If the Broncos win, then Game 7 will take place at the Whitney Forum April 2.
Elsewhere in the league, two teams have already punched their tickets to the first round - Melfort and Yorkton. The Terriers did it first, beating Melville with a 2-1 overtime win in Game 5 Friday to earn their spot, while Melfort did it Saturday with a 5-2 win over Kindersley, knocking them out in five. The Battlefords North Stars staved off elimination on the road in Game 5, with Jace Rask scoring in OT to get a 4-3 win and make the series 3-2 Weyburn.
