The Bombers' recent luck ran out a bit Sunday night. The Bombers battled back to tie the game late, but fell 5-4 in a shootout.
The Bombers put on early pressure, but inconsistent play and a rare off night from the backend were too much to overcome. The team’s 15-game point streak is still intact, but their four-game win streak is not.
Flin Flon looked good to start the game, putting plenty of tough shots on goalie Graham Brown, even with some missing the net. Luke Lepper opened the scoring with a shot from the point that snuck through a forest of players and in past Brown.
La Ronge’s offence showed up in a big way afterward. The barrage started with Taite Donkin, wide open in the slot on a La Ronge powerplay, blowing a one-timer past Matt Kieper. Less than a minute later, La Ronge got the lead when Vinny Di Iulio put a shot on Kieper that zigged when he thought it would zag, sneaking through into the net.
The Ice Wolves continued, getting a third goal in the late stages of the first. Brett Boucher shovelled home a puck next to the Bomber net after a pair of players crashed into Kieper, leaving the net open. Kieper and the Bomber bench called for goalie interference, but replays showed Flin Flon’s Wyatt Stinton had knocked La Ronge forechecker Waylon Gardipy into Kieper, nullifying any interference. La Ronge led 3-1 going into the break.
Flin Flon looked sloppy early in the second, giving up another powerplay goal when Jacob Cossette came in unchecked off the rush as a trailer and fired a shot past an outstretched Kieper.
Flin Flon responded soon after though, with Keefe Gruener picking up the last touch on a bouncing puck, knocking it past Brown and cutting the lead to two.
In the third, La Ronge thought they’d picked up goal number five, but the officials next to the net immediately waved it off. A shot from Tyson Matthews bounced off the post, off Kieper’s back and almost dribbled across the line, but Kieper swung back and snared the puck with his glove before it fully crossed into the net. The Ice Wolves bench protested, but the call stood after a discussion with the goal judge, who confirmed it didn’t cross the line.
The Bombers pushed back late in the period, starting with a good team effort to bring the home team within one. Koen Senft led the rush into the Ice Wolves’ zone, then found Anthony Piccininno, who fanned on his first attempt before getting all of his second one, firing it home.
With the Bombers still down one late, Flin Flon’s offence went fully on the attack. It culminated with another goal midway through the period, with Ryder Ringor picking the puck up, sneaking it toward the front and somehow picking a corner through traffic while falling. Flin Flon had come back to tie the game - could they pull ahead late?
Things got chippy later in the frame, with the officials’ whistles mostly being put away. Gruener and defender Rylan Silzer got tangled up in the La Ronge zone, with Gruener getting tripped up again - no calls were made on either play. La Ronge’s Ryder Dembo took a wayward stick up high, while Piccininno went in on a breakaway and was hooked on his way to the goal - no dice either way.
The whistles finally came out late in the third, with Piccininno getting the gate for a high stick that caught Matthews in the chops. Flin Flon killed the penalty kill off, but the infraction robbed them of key time late to pull ahead. There were late chances, but Brown and Kieper saved them all - overtime would be needed.
High suspense 3-on-3 overtime would ensue, but neither team produced anything of note. La Ronge’s five shots were all saved, as was the Bombers’ one shot. A shootout would be required, the Bombers’ first one of the season.
La Ronge’s Mason Bueckert started it off with a shot that Kieper stopped, while Ringor came back the other way and ran out of room to stickhandle. Donkin and Leighton Carruthers exchanged misses. Hudson Cameron got the Ice Wolves ahead in round three, beating Kieper five-hole. That put Carter Cormier up in a do-or-die situation for the Bombers - he beat Brown on a slick move, but the goalie still managed to rob Cormier blind, swinging his goalie stick back and just keeping it from crossing the goal line. The Bombers would pick up one point, not two.
Both goalies made 34 saves on the night - Brown would earn the win, while Kieper picked up his first loss as a Bomber netminder, coming after 10 consecutive wins.
Flin Flon will be back in action again Wednesday night at the Whitney Forum against Nipawin.
