Flin Flon's red-hot play continued Friday, beating Melville 3-1 and extending their win streak to eight straight.
The Bombers brought the crowd to their feet on Teddy Bear Toss night and sent those fans home happy, getting a big win despite a few crucial pieces away from the team.
Flin Flon entered the game down two top players and a coach - defender Luke Lepper, forward Koen Senft and head coach Mike Reagan were away for the game, with all three joining Team Canada West in Alberta for the upcoming World Junior A Challenge. The Bombers cycled in a pair of players to fill the roster spots and assistant coach Cole McCaig stepped into the head coach's role for the night. McCaig also brought in a former teammate as the team's assistant - Brett Boehm, the former Bomber star forward from 2012-15, recently an assistant with the Warman Wildcats U18 AAA program.
The Millionaires had their own big absence, an unexpected one that will be hard to fill - forward Caden Drury, their top player and the SJHL's leading scorer, quit the team to join the BCHL's Brooks Bandits mid-week, leaving the Mils in the lurch.
Regardless, the game is played on the ice, not on paper. The Bombers pushed early and often, breaking through midway through the first. Joey Lies dug a puck out of the corner and fired it into the slot, finding Ryder Ringor tape-to-tape for a goal Melville netminder Taylor Tabashniuk had little hope to save.
"Aaaaaand here come the teddy bears..." The Whitney Forum faithful chucked hundreds of stuffed animals on the ice, where Bombers and minor hockey players picked up the toys and packed them away for the Flin Flon Aboriginal Friendship Centre's Christmas gift program. Once the stuffies were cleared up, the game continued.
The Bombers' offensive pressure petered out after the goal, but the home team still kept the Millionaires at bay - Matt Kieper saved the few shots that snuck through. The Millionaires had a scary moment late in the frame, as Jadon Iyogun - the team's leading scorer after Drury quit - went down awkwardly in the corner after trying to get around Bomber captain Cole Tanchuk. Iyogun lost his balance and collided with the boards, hitting the side hard with his shoulder. Iyogun got to his feet with help from the trainer and left for the dressing room - he would return to the game, but played only sparingly.
Flin Flon stayed up one going into the second, but extended that lead thanks to a new face - defender Kyle Marsden, playing his first game as a Bomber, blasted one from the point and scored on his first Bomber shot. Flin Flon was up 2-0.
Melville got into penalty trouble in the second but the Bombers were unable to convert, including on a wide-open chance at the net that Keefe Gruener came agonizingly close to burying - their lead would stay at two after 40 minutes.
The third period was more even, with the Mils trying to close the game. About five minutes into the period, they cut the lead to one, with Brendan Olson getting a quick shot off from the point and beating Kieper. Making things tougher for the Bombers was Reid Arberry going down hurt following the goal, catching Olson's stick in the face on the player's followthrough.
Despite the goal, Flin Flon kept Melville at bay. Even though the Mils were able to keep Flin Flon away from danger for most of the frame, Melville couldn't convert on any other chances. Finally, with the net empty, Ringor fired in his second of the night to seal the win for the Bombers.
Kieper stopped 29 of 30 Melville shots, getting the win - Tabashniuk, a 17-year-old affiliate player filling in after Melville's normal starter and backup were hurt, made 35 saves in a losing cause.
The win pulls the Bombers and Mils even in the SJHL standings with 29 points each, tied along with Yorkton for fourth place - Flin Flon holds the tiebreaker of the three teams, putting them fourth. The Bombers are also, as of Friday night, one point behind third-place Weyburn and two behind second-place Battlefords - the Wings and Stars will play each other this weekend, meaning the Bombers won't be able to jump over both teams in the standings Saturday. The SJHL's standings are extremely close, with just four points separating the second-place team from the ninth-place team.
Flin Flon will play Melville again at the Whitney Forum Saturday night.
