The Bombers picked up two more crucial points in a 5-1 win over Kindersley Friday.
Flin Flon's point streak extended to 20 games in a game where the home team took over in the second and held on, despite a very physical third period.
The game was the homecoming of former Bomber Dawson Karol - the Regina-born forward played for the Bombers for parts of three seasons before being moved in the offseason to Dauphin, then again to Kindersley. Since then, the Bombers' former maverick fan favourite has settled in with the Klippers, scoring 18 goals so far this season, leading his new team in goals.
It was Flin Flon who would strike first, with the Bombers' offence turning the screws on Kindersley early. That paid off with Joey Lies taking a pass from newcomer Liam Hunks, coming in on a rush with Reid Arberry, then feeding Arberry, who made no mistake on Klippers 'tender Cody Jaman - 1-0 home team early.
Kindersley's jerseys this year are based on ones the team wore in the early 2000s and the team not only looked like a throwback - they played like one, with a lot of clutch and grab along the boards, killing time in their own zone by pinning the Bombers and the puck on the boards. It was effective through 20 minutes, but Flin Flon still entered the second up 1-0.
At the end of the first came a curious moment from Klippers forward Cobe Perlinger and Bomber Kyle Marsden - each has a superstition where they want to be the last one off the ice. Both stayed by the door, waiting for the other to leave, with neither yielding. Officials threatened to penalize them, but after a round of rock-paper-scissors, Marsden won and Perlinger left the ice first.
The Bombers wasted no time in the second, despite being down a man. Ryder Ringor broke in behind the defence shorthanded, came in on Jaman and slid the puck past him, extending the lead to two on a shorthanded goal. Moments later, Lies and Leo Seitz came in on net and almost got a goal of their own on Jaman, before luring Jaman out of position and feeding it out front for Wyatt Stinton. The local boy, fresh off a hat-trick in the Bombers' last home game, scored on an open net, making it 3-0 Flin Flon. Less than two and a half minutes into the second, Kindersley called timeout, hoping to stop the bleeding.
The bleeding continued regardless. Carter Cormier, a Kindersley native, almost got a goal on his hometown team on the doorstep, but was stopped. Karol almost got his team on the board, getting a breakaway, but he missed high and wide.
The lead grew more thanks to Arberry, who took a seam pass from Cole Tanchuk and snuck it past Jaman with a slick backhand tap that slid past the goalie far side - Jaman expected a fastball and instead had trouble with a curve.
Jaman's woes continued late in the period, with a pair of mistakes giving Gruener and the Bombers a late Christmas gift. Jaman skated out to the sideboards to play an incoming puck with the Klippers up a man, then tried to backpass it along the boards to a waiting defender. Two problems, though - the defender wasn't there and the puck caught a stray bolt in the Forum's boards, bouncing off the side of the net. Gruener came in, snagged the puck and tucked it into the open goal before Jaman could get back. A comedy of errors made it 5-0 Bombers.
It was at that point where things got nasty. Kindersley's Braden Cunningham took one too many whacks at Kieper after a whistle, leading to a scrap between him and Bomber captain Tanchuk. The two wrestled to a draw, got five and a game for their trouble and would watch the third from the stands. Elsewhere, Stein Dostal tried goading Gruener into a fight - one that would get them both suspended from their next game for being the second fight on a stoppage - but cooler heads prevailed. The Bombers came into the third with an almost insurmountable lead.
The Bombers let off the gas in the third, putting just six shots on the Klippers' net, but the rough stuff still continued. Karol got his pound of flesh against his old team, fighting Ryder Ringor in the neutral zone. Ringor isn't much of a fighter - the 5'9, 165-pound Winnipeg native had never fought in his junior career before the scrap and gave up 30 pounds and an inch of height to Karol - but the two still wrestled each other to the ice. Both were booted and the game continued.
Flin Flon got rough late, with Arberry getting a checking from behind penalty for dumping Will Christian into the boards - Christian promptly got up and took a roughing call in response for getting Arberry in a shoving match. Joey Lies would be penalized for a hit on Rylan Wieler, leading to Jacob Dennis skating over and jumping Lies, throwing his gloves off before Lies knew what hit him. Both were kicked out for fighting, with Lies taking an extra penalty for head contact.
Kyle Marsden then got in on the act, nailing Christian into the boards from behind. After his penalty expired, Marsden got back into the thick of things with Kindersley's Shayne Tibbles, almost giving the fans their fourth fight of the night - both players kept their gloves on, but were sent out with misconducts to keep the peace.
Kindersley did eventually find the net, robbing Kieper of his first Bomber shutout with a late goal by Wieler, getting a feed in front by Dostal and just getting it by. The goal was irrelevant to the end result - Flin Flon got their 18th win in their last 20 games and pushed their point streak even further.
Kieper saved 25 of 26 Kindersley shots, while Jaman made 32 saves in the defeat.
With the win, the Bombers extend the gap between them and third-place Weyburn, who lost to Melville Friday night. The Bombers have 51 points, becoming the second team this year to break 50, while the Wings sit third with 46 and Yorkton lurks in fourth with 45.
The Bombers and Klippers will play each other again at the Forum Saturday night.
