The Bombers got back in the win column in a big way Tuesday, laying an 8-2 whooping on Nipawin.
One of the league's hottest teams kept their run going against one of the league's doormats. Flin Flon took over the lead in the late first period and could not stop scoring through the second and third.
The Bombers played their first game with head coach and general manager Mike Reagan behind the bench, forward Koen Senft up front and defender Luke Lepper on the blueline in a couple of weeks - all three were at the World Junior A Challenge, where they earned bronze medals as part of Team Canada West.
Flin Flon owned the ice early, but Nipawin withstood the challenge early - the Hawks' defence blocked plenty of shots in the early going and goalie Gage Roberts was up to the task, making several big saves early on. Several chances came close but didn't open the scoring - Ryder Mucha almost got his first as a Bomber, with a wide-open net and the puck at his feet, but his stick got tied up and he wasn't able to shoot. Anthony Piccininno had a shot of his own with a wide open net, but he also couldn't get his stick down - Leighton Carruthers had two great chances in close stopped by Roberts.
Late in the period, with a Nipawin player in the box, it was Piccininno who opened the scoring, taking a feed from Carter Cormier and burning Roberts on a cross-crease one-timer. That goal would put the Bombers up one and give the home team a lead they wouldn't give up.
Leo Seitz scored his first goal in nearly a month to start a busy second period for the Bombers, shooting off a faceoff and through traffic - his shot went through Roberts' five-hole and the goalie didn't see it coming. A minute later, Mucha came into the zone and finally buried his first goal as a Bomber to extend the lead to three. Mucha's goal was the eventual game-winner - and assistant captain Kylynn Olafson, playing his first home game in almost two months after suffering a broken jaw, was sure to snag the puck for the hometown rookie.
Ashton Tait got the Hawks on the board 11 seconds later with a quick counter-attack shot, but the Bombers would not be denied. Keefe Gruener got a prime set-up by Carruthers later in the period, banging home a shot from a wide-open portion of the net - Ryder Ringor followed suit later in the period, taking over the puck and doing it himself, beating Roberts clean.
The game was getting away from the Hawks, but the Bombers could have made it even more lopsided. Ringor hit a post on a great chance early on, while Roberts stopped more chances - 36 through the first two periods.
Flin Flon's Rhett Ewen and Nipawin's Noah Derouin fought late in the period after a big hit away from the play, with both players getting sent for early trips to the showers. Flin Flon led 5-1 after 40.
Olafson got his second of the season to start the third, waltzing in from the corner untouched and beating Roberts from out front. The Hawks were getting beaten on the board, beaten in battles and, eventually, beaten in fights - two broke out on a single stoppage midway through the frame, with Gruener taking on Aiden Bruce and Kyle Marsden scrapping with Justus Cutler in a heavyweight tilt. Both Bombers got the lion's share of punches and the takedowns, all four players were sent to the showers and the game continued.
Carruthers made it a touchdown and extra point for the Bombers, grabbing a perfect pass in the slot and beating Roberts point-blank. Mucha even got in on the act, scoring a second goal after skating into the slot, eating a check from Nipawin's Jack Mitchell and still scoring on Roberts.
Mucha made his impact again right after, burying Nipawin's Vito Biondo into the boards from behind while his second goal was still being announced over the Whitney Forum's PA system. The hit drew a crowd and Biondo, the Hawks' best defenceman, was shaken up but he stayed in the game. Mucha was sent to the box for the hit, leading to the Hawks' second goal of the night - a post-and-in rip by Tait, his second of the night, met with almost no fanfare. The Hawks knew this one was already long since over.
More tempers flared late, this time from Nipawin's hard-done-by goalie. With Olafson jockeying for possession, Roberts gave him a credit-card-swipe between the legs from behind with his goalie stick. When Olafson pushed back, Roberts came out of his crease and tackled Olafson, leading to another pileup in front. Roberts got a double-minor for spearing, Olafson took two minutes for cross-checking, the final 25 seconds went off quickly and a game that had already been done for more than an hour was finally over.
Matt Kieper stopped 29 of 31 Nipawin shots for his eighth win in eight starts for the Bombers. Roberts, a former teammate of Bombers Gruener and Marsden in Fort McMurray, was left out to dry for the entire game without even a sympathy pull - he stopped 42 shots on a very long night in the crease.
The Bombers move back into second in the SJHL standings, keeping their distance over Yorkton, who also won Tuesday. Flin Flon now has 36 points, still 12 back of league-leading Melfort but ahead of both Yorkton and Battlefords in a third-place tie.
Flin Flon will play their final games of 2024 against La Ronge this weekend - first at the Mel Hegland Uniplex in La Ronge Friday night, then their last game before the holiday break at the Whitney Forum Saturday night.
