Flin Flon couldn't hold back a La Ronge team fighting to survive Friday night, losing 6-3 to the Ice Wolves.
La Ronge kept their playoff hopes alive and won what may possibly be their final home game at the Mel Hegland Uniplex, beating Flin Flon in a slobberknocker up north.
Waylon Gardipy got the party started for La Ronge, finishing off a two-on-one with Hudson Cameron and setting off a near-capacity crowd at the Mel. Flin Flon's offence pelted La Ronge goalie Graham Brown with shots, making him stop shot after shot, but La Ronge still got on the board again late in the frame. Rylan Silzer, one of the SJHL's league award nominees announced last week, got a powerplay marker, sneaking in past the penalty killers and getting a shot Matt Kieper never saw in the Bomber goal.
Rhett Ewen salvaged some pride for Flin Flon late in the frame, whacking a loose puck home past Brown to cut the lead to one - La Ronge still entered the third up 2-1.
The second opened with a bang - several of them, courtesy of a fight between Flin Flon's Kyle Marsden and Ice Wolf Vinny Di Iulio. It wasn't close - Marsden, with a big size advantage, got the lion's share of the shots and the takedown.
La Ronge took advantage of that post-fight adrenaline and used to extend their lead, not once but twice - first with an unassisted goal by Hudson Cameron, knocking the puck out of the air baseball-style past Kieper, then with Silzer's second of the game, a blast from the point.
Keefe Gruener took matters into his own hands moments after, going in on a partial break, dangling out Graham Brown and getting Flin Flon back within two. No other goals would count in that second period, with La Ronge going into the third up 4-2.
The Rylan Silzer show continued on in the early third, with the defenceman getting his first career hat-trick in what may be one of his final junior games - a one-timer blast with a man up made it 5-2 and hats hit the ice at the Mel.
Ryder Ringor got a powerplay marker midway through the period to bring the Bombers back to striking distance, but it wouldn't be enough. Cameron iced it with an empty-netter in the final moments, clinching the win for La Ronge and giving the teams' Saturday night matchup in Flin Flon do-or-die stakes for the Ice Wolves.
Brown made 45 saves in the win, while Kieper had an uncharacteristically off night in the Bomber crease, taking just his second regulation loss of the year with 20 saves on 25 shots.
The loss won't mean much for the Bombers in the standings - the team is still stuck into second place in the league with 79 points, unable to climb or drop and potential home ice advantage against any opponent except first-place Melfort. The win for La Ronge made a world of difference, keeping them alive in the SJHL's playoff race. The Ice Wolves now have 53 points, tying them with the Kindersley Klippers with one game left in the SJHL season. If La Ronge wins against the Bombers and Kindersley loses in Battlefords Saturday night, they can secure at least a tiebreaker situation with the Klippers for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Meanwhile, the Bombers' first round opponents are still undecided. The Bombers will either play Battlefords or Humboldt in that series. Humboldt's schedule is now complete, finishing their 56-game run with 62 points. If the Stars take Kindersley to overtime and lose, they will tie the Broncos and force the league's tiebreaking protocol into action to determine seeding - if the Klippers win, the Bombers will play the Stars. If the Stars win, the Bombers will face Humboldt in the first round.
All will be decided in the SJHL's last big Saturday night blast of the season March 15.
