The Bombers wrote some history Saturday night, sending Notre Dame away in a 4-1 win.
Notre Dame got some crushing news before the Saturday game - the team's leading scorer, Marko Djordjevic, left the team following the teams' Friday game to join a BCHL club, knocking a club that already had issues finding the net several steps back.
The Bombers began the night on a solemn note, paying tribute to long-time Bomber billet mom Lorraine Krokosz. Krokosz volunteered with the club for five decades before passing away Jan. 20. Ben Lulashnyk, a former Bomber defender and 2001 RBC Cup player who billeted with Krokosz during his time with the club, presented Bomber head coach and general manager Mike Reagan with a $5,000 donation to the team in Krokosz' honour.
Flin Flon got off to a quick start, taking the lead in the first period on a powerplay goal. A point shot by Nash Holmes was blocked in front, but it skipped right onto the stick of the SJHL's leading scorer, Keefe Gruener - Gruener became the SJHL's first 30-goal scorer this season by knocking it past Hound goalie Kaden Perron.
The Bombers kept momentum with occasional ebbs the Hounds' way, but the score stayed 1-0 entering the second, thanks in part to a pair of big stops by Flin Flon goalie Matt Kieper. The Hounds would go down another forward late in the frame after a big hit in the Notre Dame zone, seeing Hound Luke Lawford getting double-stuffed on the boards by the Bombers' Bash Brothers, Landon Alexander and Rhett Ewen - Lawford's helmet popped off on impact with the glass and stanchion, he groggily made his way back to the bench and eventually left the game, not returning to action.
Notre Dame fought back hard and nearly tied the game several times in the early second, but Flin Flon's defence and Kieper held firm when needed. The Bombers kept their lead through a pair of penalty kills, including a five-on-three deficit, almost getting shorthanded markers from Koen Senft and Gruener.
Late in the second, the Bombers got back on the board with a Pierce Yakimchuk shot off a faceoff, sneaking through traffic and past Perron. Carter Cormier, a former Hound in his AAA years, extended the lead in the final moments of the third, rifling a long spinning wrister into the goal to make it 3-0.
Going into the third, Flin Flon sought to finish off their opponents, but the Hounds wouldn't go gently, with Hudson Kerr almost getting Notre Dame on the board. It didn't work and soon after, Cormier made them pay, belting home a one-timer that caught every Hound on the ice off-guard to put Flin Flon up four.
Tempers flared a bit as the third wore on, with the Hounds and Bombers trading shots and hits. Maclean Cooney caught Joey Lies in the face with a high stick that went uncaught, while a hit by the Hounds' Pherson Loehndorf on Reid Arberry led to the defender riding the Bomber down the ice like a kneeboard.
Notre Dame broke Kieper's shutout bid with only moments to go in the game and it was a familiar face that did it - ex-Bomber Evin Bossel, traded last month as part of the deal that brought Liam Hunks north. Bossel got the puck off a scrum on the boards and fired a shot from the slot past Kieper, getting his first goal at the Forum post-trade with his parents watching in the crowd. While the goal was a high point for Notre Dame, the score wasn't - the Bombers held on and pulled away from a pair of clubs close in the standings.
Kieper made 23 saves on the night for the win, while Perron stopped 47 of 51 Bomber shots. Kieper has now played 21 straight games without a regulation loss - 19 wins, one loss each in overtime and a shootout.
The Bombers pulled further away from Weyburn and Yorkton in second place in the league standings, hitting 70 points on the season. Weyburn, who didn't play Saturday, is now 10 points back, while Yorkton, who beat Estevan Saturday, are just one point behind the Wings for third.
The Hounds' loss was not only their tenth in a row - it all but eliminated them from SJHL playoff contention. Notre Dame now has 26 points, tied for last place in the league - with 11 games to go, the Hounds can only achieve 48 points maximum. Notre Dame would have to win their final 11 games, would need eight-place Kindersley to lose all nine of their final games and not be overtaken by either Estevan or La Ronge (eight and 14 points ahead) in the process to get the SJHL's final playoff spot.
Both the Bombers and Mustangs have already clinched playoff spots. The Red Wings can be the next team to clinch a playoff spot by picking up two more points, while Yorkton can do the same by grabbing three.
The Bombers' next three games will be on the road, starting with a doubleheader next weekend at Yorkton and Melville Feb. 21-22 and the first leg of a home-and-home against first-place Melfort Feb. 28. The team will see some action before those games though - the Bombers, along with the U13 Bombers minor hockey club, will host a skills competition at the Whitney Forum Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m.
