The hottest team in the SJHL continues to reside in Flin Flon. The Bombers sent Weyburn back south Saturday, beating them 6-2.
Flin Flon opened up a lead in the first period and kept it going throughout the rest of the game, extending the Bombers' winning streak to seven games and putting them double-digits clear of second place in the SJHL standings.
Carter Anderson got the party started with a powerplay blast from the point about six minutes in, leaving Weyburn goalie Dazza Mitchell sprawled and stickless. Weyburn would tie the game up not long after, getting a powerplay marker of their own from Nick Kovacs, but the Bombers would get the last back and then some.
Less than two minutes later, Justin Lies popped a shot right off a faceoff up and through Mitchell to make it 2-1 Flin Flon. Later in the frame, on another powerplay, Anderson smoked another shot clean past Mitchell to make it 3-1, scoring three goals on their first nine shots. Flin Flon almost got a fourth goal later in the frame, with Jacob Vockler and Alexi Sylvestre breaking in soon after goal number three on a break, but the play was whistled offside on a close call, much to the chagrin of the Whitney Forum crowd.
The Bombers headed into the second period up 3-1, but made it 4-1 courtesy of rookie Koen Senft, who capitalized on a Red Wing defensive lapse and fired the puck home on a partial break to extend the lead. The Bombers also got a surge of momentum killing off a pair of penalties - despite going down 5-on-3, Flin Flon kept the visitors at bay.
Physicality wasn't ever far away during the game - several skirmishes were sparked off after Anderson's first goal of the game and intermittently throughout the night. A big hit by Riley Niven on Weyburn's Braigh LeGrandeur let to a grappling match down low, then Isaac Deveau and LeGrandeur for Weyburn got into it, leading to Deveau laying LeGrandeur out with a hit and a wrestling match on the ice. Both went to the penalty box, nothing developed offensively and the game moved on.
Flin Flon entered the third period up 4-1 and picked up more goals, starting with Sylvestre, who was sprung on a partial break and went low blocker on Mitchell, getting it by the goalie. Liam Bridger almost put a one-time home moments later, but skied it over the net after a stick got in the way.
Tempers flared later in the frame, with Weyburn's Drew Molde and Flin Flon's Matt Egan dropping the mitts. Egan kept a glove on while firing punches at Molde, who as a young player in the league wore a cage. The fight turned toward the Bomber bench, where players kept physically clear of the melee but added some choice trash talk, before the refs separated the two and sent them to the dressing rooms.
Sylvestre got goal number two not too long after the fight, working a give-and-go with Senft and Vockler to make it 6-1. Weyburn's Lucas Schmid got a bouncing puck to bobble past Harmon Laser-Hume in the final moments, but that would have little effect on the end result.
Laser-Hume made 27 saves on the night for the win, while Mitchell took a 36-save loss.
Flin Flon now sits well clear of all other competition in the league standings, with 54 points in 29 games. Melfort has climbed into second place with 42 points, but the Mustangs have played two more games than Flin Flon - both Humboldt and Battlefords are tied for third with 41 points apiece in 28 and 29 games respectively.
The Bombers will play two more games before going on holiday break, a home-and-home against La Ronge - first playing the Ice Wolves on the road Dec. 15, then at the Whitney Forum Dec. 16.
