The Bombers battled hard Friday night against the Broncos, but couldn't dig deep enough, taking a 4-3 defeat and losing their fifth straight game.
Flin Flon opened up the weekend with a full effort, but didn't get the results they needed against a Humboldt team that pushed through the resistance.
The Bombers were behind the eight-ball to start, with two regular forwards still out with injuries - Keefe Gruener and Kylynn Olafson - and rookie Wyatt Stinton serving the first game of a suspension picked up during the Bombers' game against Yorkton this week. On top of that, the Bombers were down to one goalie, with the club releasing netminder Jake Torget and with goalie Massimo Urbani out west recovering from injury - the team picked up AAA goalie Jaden Blanchette from the Prince Albert Mintos to back up Kenny Marquart.
Flin Flon began the game with a tribute to former Bomber anthem singer Bob Njegovan, who died last summer. The team held a moment of silence in his honour before playing video of him signing O Canada, to a Whitney Forum that gave prolonged applause after the song ended.
Once the game got going, the Bombers opened up the night with pressure on Humboldt. On an early powerplay, Ryder Ringor banged home the game's first goal to give Flin Flon an early lead.
After killing a penalty off, the Bombers almost extended the lead, with Evin Bossel's one-timer shot robbed by Humboldt goalie Ty Matonovich. Another chance for Flin Flon came shorthanded when Anthony Piccininno broke in on a clean breakaway, but Matonovich saved the chance when the puck bobbled off Piccininno's stick.
Despite some more momentum and a couple more powerplays, the Bombers' offence spun its tires, with Matonovich and Humboldt's defence up to the task. Aside from a rare early-game scrap between Bomber Rhett Ewen and Bronco Tristan Serrao - a bout that the judges would score as a draw - the Bombers entered the second up 1-0.
Flin Flon opened the second by extending the lead, with Bossel scoring his second goal of the season - but the Broncos wouldn't go quietly, with Boris Kofman getting open in the high slot and firing a shot past Marquart, cutting the lead to one. More Bomber chances would come close, but not close enough.
A second fight between Reid Arberry and Humboldt's Orin Olson came later in the period, with Arberry getting Olson to a knee before officials broke up the bout. Flin Flon pushed even harder on the Humboldt net, putting both feet on the gas pedal in maybe their most dominant performance to date this season, but Humboldt handled the pressure. Later in the frame, Kye Benoche tied the game with a wrist shot Marquart likely wanted back, tying the game up.
It wouldn't be a Whitney Forum game without a dash of controversy and that came late in the second, when Humboldt captain Landon Stromme got tangled up with Ringor and dumped the Bomber forward into Matonovich at speed. While video of the play clearly showed Stromme knocking Ringor off his feet before the Bomber hit the goalie, Ringor picked up the only penalty on the play. Fans booed and the bench protested, but the Bombers were down a man - and killed the penalty off long enough for Kofman to take a penalty of his own to even things out. Neither team produced, the game entered the third as a 2-2 tie and all was still left to play for.
The Bombers' momentum fell into a rut immediately, with a missed chance going back the other way and Jeter Korte putting a shot shortside on Marquart, going in and giving Humboldt their first lead of the game. The Bombers entered panic mode, missing passes, making minor mistakes that piled up as the third went on.
Marquart did everything he could to keep Flin Flon in the game, robbing a Bronco blind in front and doing the same with a wraparound chance moments later. Flin Flon's discipline didn't help, with Ringor sitting for two minutes for a penalty late, but the Bombers killed it off and went back on the offensive. Piccininno and Koen Senft went in on a two-on-one and Humboldt's Oakley McIlwain took a penalty to break it up, putting the teams on a late four-on-four, but both teams killed it off.
Marquart headed to the bench with under two minutes to go, but the Bombers couldn't keep the zone or the puck and almost immediately coughed up an empty-netter, with Josh Sale scoring from way downtown to ice it. Carter Anderson got on the board in the final minute, scoring on a late Bronco penalty to bring Flin Flon back within one, but that was as close as it would get.
Matonovich stopped 44 Bomber shots for the win, while Marquart made 29 stops in a losing effort.
The two teams will face each other again Saturday night.
