The Bombers opened the season with a big rivalry win, beating Nipawin 4-3.
Over a thousand marked fans came to the Whitney Forum for the first dance of the season Friday night, taking in a pre-game outdoor tailgate and enjoying the team's customary season-opening light show and player introductions.
The intro served as the Bombers' way to publicly announce their leadership group for this season - forwards Keefe Gruener, Kylynn Olafson and Anthony Piccininno will wear assistant's "A"s. To unveil the team's captain, a video of outgoing Bomber captain Justin Lies played on the arena's videoboard, officially announcing this year's captain as defenceman Cole Tanchuk. Tanchuk is now in his fourth full season as a Bomber and, between regular season and playoffs, has played nearly 200 SJHL games.
Once the game got going, both teams were on even footing at first, but the Bombers started pushing harder and harder through the opening frame. Carter Anderson clanged a crossbar loudly in the first, while hometown boy Ryder Mucha did the same moments later.
Anderson almost hit the net again but was stymied by Nipawin's Henry Smith hooking him from the net, earning a penalty. The hook may have saved a Bomber goal, but the powerplay made it just delaying the inevitable. With Flin Flon buzzing with a man advantage, it paid off with Koen Senft knocking a loose puck home in the crease. 1-0 Bombers.
Nipawin wasn't about to go quietly. On a powerplay of their own later in the frame, Finley Radloff got a stick on a point shot and redirected it past Kenny Marquart, sending the game into the intermission tied.
The Bombers would turn up the heat in the second, pelting Tyson Endall in the Hawks' net with shots but the goalie mostly stood tall. That changed when the Bombers retook the lead shorthanded, with two assistant captains teaming up - Gruener pressed in the corner and forced a turnover before feeding Olafson out front, where he made no mistake on Endall.
That lead also wouldn't last, as the Hawks' Jack Janzen got his first SJHL goal on a shot through traffic. While the Bombers outshot the Hawks 41-12 through two periods, the teams entered the third tied.
It didn't last long, as in the first minute of the third, Carter Anderson ripped a wrist shot top shelf and killed Endall's waterbottle with it, giving Flin Flon a lead. Moments later, Austin Montgomery-Parsons got his first goal as a Bomber, getting the last whack on a puck that bounced near the slot. Both goals came within a minute of the period starting and knocked the wind out of Nipawin's sails.
The chances kept coming for Flin Flon - Anderson clanged one post with a shot, then soon after clanged the other one, while a close call for the Bombers was ruled a "no goal" after officials couldn't confirm whether the puck crossed the line.
With two minutes to go and being outshot by a boatload, Nipawin pulled Endall and it paid off - this time, it was Carter Anderson (a forward on the Hawks, not the same one as on the Bombers) getting a goal to bring Nipawin within one. Some hockey trivia was created in the bargain - it was the first game in the SJHL's five-plus-decades where two players with the same name on different teams have both scored in the same game.
Endall stood tall on a late attempt by Joey Lies to keep Nipawin within one and headed to the bench again late, but the Hawks couldn't produce more offence and Flin Flon hung on for the win. The moose legs were hoisted for the first time this season and the Bombers opened the season with a win - Flin Flon-born players Lies, Ryder Mucha and Wyatt Stinton, the latter two in their first game as Bombers, headed off the ice clutching Flin Flon's ungulate trophy.
Marquart needed just 18 saves to earn the win for the Bombers, while Endall was pelted, saving 59 of 63 Bomber shots on the night.
While the Bombers and Hawks have had a fierce rivalry in recent years, it's been one-sided. With Friday's win, the Bombers have now won 12 straight games against the Hawks, winning all six of their meetings last season and five of six the year before that. The last time the Hawks beat the Bombers was Sept. 17, 2022 - a 5-2 Hawks win in Nipawin.
The Bombers will start their road slate Saturday night in Melfort, then will play a home-and-home against La Ronge next weekend - Sept. 27 at home and Sept. 28 on the road.
