It was deja vu all over again for the Bombers in Game 4 - a ton of shots, but not a ton of goals and a rough overtime loss to Humboldt.
The Broncos scored 17 minutes into bonus hockey to beat the Bombers 4-3, moving the series back to Flin Flon this weekend tied at two wins each.
The game couldn't have started much worse for the Bombers, who went down early on a bad beat. A shot from the point by Bronco defenceman Tre Fouquette bounced off the back board, then went forward, off the skate of Matt Kieper and into the net. Before the Bombers could even get a shot on goal, they were down 1-0.
Flin Flon then almost immediately took a delay of game penalty, firing a puck straight out of play from the defensive zone. The Bombers got it together and killed the penalty off.
Humboldt then threw the Bombers a lifeline, with Rylan Hue boarding Pierce Yakimchuk behind Flin Flon's net. With Hue in the box, the Bomber powerplay got to work and converted, shovelling a puck into a mess of bodies in front, where Ryder Ringor found the puck in traffic and beat Dazza Mitchell. The game was tied again, less than seven eventful minutes after the start.
Another Flin Flon powerplay came soon after and the Bombers put heavy pressure on Mitchell, fresh off a 60-plus save performance a night earlier. The Bombers nearly got a goal from Rhett Ewen, who got the puck in front off a feed from Ringor but fired it wide.
The Bombers pushed hard for the rest of the first, getting more chances. Ryder Mucha had two chances in close saved by Mitchell. Anthony Piccininno rang a shot in close off the post.
A second puck-out-of-play delay of game penalty put the Bombers down a man late in the frame, then as soon as the penalty was over, the Bombers took another one - this one proved painful, as the Broncos converted on the second call, as a bouncing puck from the point skittered, jumped and bumped its way into the goal. Jacob Strizzi got the credit for the goal and Humboldt regained the lead late in the first, entering period two up 2-1.
The penalty pendulum swung back at Humboldt early in the second, with the Broncos this time firing a puck straight out of play in their own zone, the same corner where both of the Bombers' calls in the first came from. A second call came soon after when Humboldt captain Landon Stromme nailed Luke Lepper with a charge, putting the Bombers up 5-on-3. Despite a lengthy two-man advantage, the Bombers failed to convert on both, losing the second powerplay after taking a high-sticking penalty. A crucial chance to tie the game went squandered by the Bombers, helped out by a few big saves by Mitchell.
More chances later in the period ended with Flin Flon coming up short, with another powerplay ended early from a Bomber penalty. That would again cost the Bombers, with Maddox Amaral coming in unmarked and firing one over Kieper's shoulder. Humboldt almost scored again moments later when Stromme beat Kieper but not the post.
Making matters worse was Koen Senft going down after a knee-on-knee hit by Stromme. The Bombers, who already started Game 4 with just 10 healthy roster forwards in the lineup, would go down another one thanks to a cheapshot by Humboldt's captain.
Once again, Flin Flon couldn't convert on the ensuing powerplay. Even when they had chances to get close, the Bombers couldn't take advantage.
Late in the period, Landon Alexander caught Humboldt's Liam Rodman with a hit in the corner that took him down and out - the defenceman's head caught the stanchion in the glass and knocked him unconscious on the ice. Rodman stayed down on the ice for treatment for several minutes before getting back on his feet with help, holding up a towel to his head and bleeding. Alexander wasn't penalized for the check, but the Bombers got a powerplay after the hit, thanks to the Broncos' Callum Desbrow roughing up Alexander after the hit. The powerplay extended into the third, with Humboldt's 3-1 lead intact.
That powerplay came and went, once again, without the Bombers scoring. The maroon and white would be well behind the eight-ball but Flin Flon could not find traction, with Humboldt getting the lion's share of puck possession.
Another Bomber powerplay chance came midway through the second and this time, the Bombers actually got one in - this time, it was Creighton's own Ryder Mucha getting the last whack on a loose puck in the slot, deflecting it off a Broncos defender and getting it past Mitchell. It was a one-goal game - the Bombers were at least within striking distance.
They got there moments after goal number two, with Keefe Gruener getting into open ice and beating Mitchell clean with a wrister from the slot. The Bombers had battled back with two quick ones to tie the game once again, just like Game 3.
A pair of penalties were called following the goal, putting the teams on a 4-on-4. Both teams exchanged blows, with Humboldt now playing desperate and the Bombers working with momentum.
Flin Flon got their whopping ninth powerplay at the end of the 4-on-4 stretch after a Humboldt player tripped up Alexander, but Humboldt's defence turned away a series of Bomber chances - another golden Flin Flon opportunity went down unused and Carter Cormier would take a penalty for the Bombers right after the teams got back even.
Kieper and company kept the Broncos at bay, even with the goalie playing without a stick for a long stretch. Humboldt kept pushing, with Benoche getting a prime chance in close with three minutes to go, but the defence came back just in time to push his shot wide.
Both teams kept pushing. Luke Lepper almost got one in from distance, but it just went over the net. Another chance in the slot was knocked out of harm's way by the Bronco D. A chance in the final seconds by Ringor was saved. A last push before the horn netted the Bombers nothing.
For the second time in as many nights, these two teams would go to overtime.
Much like Game 3, both teams traded chances. Flin Flon got the first close one, with a deflection almost looping up and over Mitchell and in, but the puck went just over the goal and onto the back of the goal. Humboldt's Zach Bansley, who scored the winner in Game 3, almost got a breakaway chance but couldn't convert. Strizzi almost got a great chance when Liam Hunks' stick broke and he got a chance in alone, but Kieper made the big save. Mucha and Gruener got on a two-on-one, but a big backcheck by a Bronco defenceman killed that chance.
Humboldt hemmed the Bombers in for a stretch, but Flin Flon managed to clear the puck out and buy some time. As the period wore on, the Bombers got more chances, but the Broncos' ones seemed to get closer to the goal - Kieper was up to the task.
It was a war of attrition - which would last longer, the Bombers' banged-up forward group or the Broncos' defence and goalies, down Rodman and having to face well over 120 shots in just over 24 hours? Humboldt outshot the Bombers through most of the OT period, getting more shots in the extra frame than they did in any of the first three periods.
In the end, the Broncos would break through again. Strizzi broke into the zone and while he didn't score on his initial shot, Benoche did on the rebound, knocking it past Kieper and tying the series.
Mitchell got his second straight win, making 57 saves on the night to do it. Kieper ate his second straight overtime loss despite the Broncos being heavily outshot, stopping 28 shots in a losing cause.
The series will shift back to Flin Flon for Game 5 Saturday night, with one more game guaranteed at Humboldt Elgar Petersen Arena next Monday. If needed, Game 7 would take place at the Whitney Forum next week.
The Bombers/Broncos series will be the only one without a team going up 3-1. Kindersley staved off elimination with a 3-2 overtime win against Melfort, while Yorkton pulled ahead of Melville with a 2-1 victory. Weyburn moved ahead of the Battlefords North Stars 3-2 in an overtime win, giving them a chance to clinch at home this weekend.
