Flin Flon continued on their recent hot streak, winning their final road game of 2024 3-1 in La Ronge.
The Bombers picked up their 13th win in their last 15 games and their 13th straight game with at least one point, beating their closest rivals and moving into sole possession of second place in the league standings.
Flin Flon started fine but generated little offence - the few chances that made it through were stopped by La Ronge goalie Graham Brown. The Ice Wolves had the best chance of the period, with Mason Bueckert getting set up in front and almost getting a point-blank chance on Matt Kieper, but Joey Lies got a stick in the way to end the threat. The teams were scoreless after 20 minutes.
Things changed early in the second, with some digging near the Ice Wolves' net paying off for Flin Flon. Rhett Ewen and Wyatt Stinton jumped on a puck near the goal and Stinton got the last touch on it before it went in the net, opening the scoring for the Bombers.
Midway through the frame, Leighton Carruthers collided with Brown, causing a skirmish near the goal. Smith went down on the ice, but stuck it out and stayed in the game - Carruthers got a double-minor for his trouble, with La Ronge's Grayden Perozni taking a penalty too.
Late in the frame came more offence, with Carter Cormier getting set up by Ryder Ringor on a powerplay and smashing it past Brown. The Bombers led 2-0 after two periods on Cormier's seventh powerplay goal of the year, good enough for second in the league - they nearly made it 3-0 with another chance by Cormier in the dying moments, but Flin Flon entered the third period up a man and two goals.
The Bombers did not capitalize on the chance to start the third and would later have the lead cut in half late, with Brett Boucher, newly acquired from the Battlefords North Stars, killing Kieper's shutout bid.
La Ronge had a prime chance with a powerplay in the final four minutes, but the home team squashed their own momentum soon after. Ryder Dembo took an ineligible player penalty, making it four-on-four and killing La Ronge's advantage - Dembo's neck guard came off mid-play, meaning he needed to go to the bench, but he stayed on the ice and touched the puck, taking the penalty.
Twenty seconds later, Pierce Yakimchuk made the Ice Wolves pay, scoring his second goal over the year to restore the two-goal lead. Flin Flon killed off the rest of the clock and rode to victory, winning once again.
Kieper made 27 saves for the win, getting his ninth victory in nine games as a Bomber. Brown made 43 saves in a losing effort for La Ronge.
With the victory, the Bombers now have an 18-9-2-0 record and 38 points in total, ahead of third-place Weyburn by two points and fourth-place Yorkton and Battlefords by three. The Bombers are well behind first-place Melfort, who cracked 50 points with a win over Nipawin Friday night.
Flin Flon will play their final game before the holiday break at the Whitney Forum Saturday night against the Ice Wolves.
