The Norman Regional Minor Hockey Association is going to be holding ID skates for next year's Regional teams.

The teams that are part of the ID skates include the U-13 AA Co-Ed  Northstars, U-15 AAA Northstars, U-15 AAA Wild, U-17 Northstars and U-18 Wild.

The schedule for the ID skates in Thompson are: Saturday April the 18th for U-13 AA Co-Ed, U-15 AAA Northstars and U-17 AAA Northstars.

Sunday April the 19th for U-15 AAA and U-18 Wild Girls.

Full schedules and registration forms can be seen on the Flin Flon Minor Hockey Facebook page.

The Flin Flon Bombers will meet the Weyburn Red Wings in the SJHL Semi Final for the second straight season.

The Bombers swept the Estevan Bruins in 4 straight games in the SJHL Quarter Final while the Wings knocked off the Nipawin Hawks in 6 games.

The schedule has been released and will start in Flin Flon at the Whitney Forum this weekend.

Here is the complete schedule of games:

 Game One Friday April 3rd- Whitney Forum Flin Flon 7:30pm

 Game Two Saturday April 4th - Whitney Forum Flin Flon 7:30pm

 Game Three Tuesday April 7th- Crescent Point Place Weyburn 8pm

 Game Four Wednesday April 8th- Crescent Point Place Weyburn 8pm

if necessary

Game 5 Saturday April 11th- Whitney Forum Flin Flon 7:30pm

Game 6 Monday April 13th- Crescent Point Place Weyburn 8pm

Game 7 Wednesday April 15th- Whitney Forum Flin Flon 7:30pm

All games are listed in Manitoba time and you can listen to every single Bomber playoff game on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com.

Soccer season is approaching quickly and the Phantom Lake Soccer Club has announced that their season is going to start indoors next week for U-15-17, Tuesday April the 7th at 7:30pm.

U-15 Female  Travel Team Practises will also take place on Wednesday April the 8th at 7:30 and U-18 Travel Female Sunday April  the 12th at noon and 2pm.

All the indoor games and practises will take place at the Sportex.

Unfortunately the PLSC do not have enough coach's for the other divisions and as soon as they find more coach's,  will be able to start playing games in the other divisions.

If you think you might be interested in coaching  might be  able to help you can e-mail plsctechnical@gmail.com.

Flin Flon Minor Hockey has announced their AGM for Thursday May the 14th at the Victoria Inn starting at 7pm.

The evening will include a report by the President, financial statement from the Treasurer and reports from the different Division Coordinators.

There will also be an opportunity to ask questions from the floor.

Many board positions will be available and FFMH is hoping for a good turn out.

Two year term positions that will be available include President, Vice President and Secretary.

There are plenty of one year term positions available including.

All Division Coordinators

Rep Team Coordinator

Communications Director

Special Events Coordinator

Technical Director

Equipment Coordinator

Volunteer Coordinator

Sponsorship Coordinator

Goalie Coordinator

Referee Coordinator

Time Keeper Coordinator

Scheduler

Player Advocate

Anyone interested in any positions or if you have any questions, please email secretaryffmh@gmail.com

More exciting news for the Flin Flon Bombers who are getting ready to celebrate their 100th anniversary for the 2026-27 season.

The Bombers will host the SJHL Hall Of Fame induction ceremonies during the home opening weekend September the 25th and 26th. This will be a great way to kick off this historic season as the hockey club will get a chance to welcome back all their alumni including former coach's, players, board members, volunteers and lots of supporters.

The Bombers will get a chance to select former players, coach's and builders into the SJHL Hall Of Fame who have left a legacy and made a significant contribution to the Bomber  franchise  throughout the years.

The reunion weekend will include an Alumni Hockey Game, the Hall Of Fame Inductions ceremony and the Flin Flon Bombers Home Opener.

More details will be announced as we move closer to the date including ticket information, guest speakers, and different events that are being planned as we get set to celebrate one of the most recognized hockey franchises in the world.

The brand new Flin Flon Aqua Centre will be opening soon and they are in need of Life Guards.

The first step to becoming a Life Guard is the Bronze Medallion and Bronze Cross  Courses.

The courses will take place at the new Aqua Centre on April the 17th,18th,19th,24th,25th and 26th.

The times are 4:30pm til 8:30pm on Fridays and 9am to 5:30pm on Saturday and Sunday.

All the required books will be provided and is open to anyone 16 and over and you will be able to use these courses to become a Life Guard. The cost is $300.00.

You can register by e-mailing kandersen@flinflon.ca.

Flin Flon Creighton Minor Ball is ready for the 2026 season.

They have announced their schedule for all the divisions.

Monday and Wednesdays it will be 5-U,7-U and 11-U.

Tuesdays and Thursdays- 9-U,13-U, 15 and 18U.

Games will take place at both Centoba and Creighton ball diamonds with the season tentative start date April the 27th weather permitting.

Registration remains open til May 15th. All players must be registered online. You can pay players fees and 50/50 fees at the field by cash or cheque the first week of baseball. E-transfers also accepted.

If you have any questions and require more information you can reach out to ffcrminorbaseball@gmail.com.

Flin Flon Minor Hockey officially wrapped up their season last night with the annual Awards Night and Gala at the Flin Flon Community Hall.

Awards were handed out in all the different age groups including Officials and here is the complete list of award winners.

U7:

Most Dedicated- Arlo Fox

Most Improved- James Ryan & Felix Gawiak

Most Team Spirit- Corbin Vancoughnett

U9:

Most Dedicated- Levi Barr

Most Improved- Tayze Olson

Most Team Spirit- Colton Harmon

U11:

Most Dedicated- Jacob Pawlachuk

Most Improved- Talitah Stenbeck

Most Team Spirit- Hunter & Hudson Enns

U13:

Most Dedicated- Max Tetlock

Most Improved- Michael Wazny

Most Team Spirit- Arden Taylor

U15:

Most Dedicated- Jaegar Dominey

Most Improved- Kale McKay

Most Team Spirit- Bentley Crone

U18:

Most Dedicated- Devon Thurstan

Most Improved- Thomas Cathcart

Most Team Spirit- Drayden Lowe

Female:

Most Dedicated- Sawyer Phillips

Most Improved- Winter Ritch

Most Team Spirit- Tinley Leclair

FFMH MVP:

U9- Eli McKinnon

U11- Jayden Kozar

U13- Quinn Trubiak

U15/18- Dominic McKay

Referee Awards:

Female Most Dedicated- Jane Neufeld

Male Most Dedicated- Thomas Cathcart

Most Improved/Promising- Riley Trubiak

Harvey Bolton Award- Hayden Biberdorf

The Flin Flon Bombers went into Estevan and took both games at Affinity Place including a 2 to 0 win on Wednesday night and have swept their opening round Quarter Final  Series against the Bruins.

Finn Werner turned away all 26 shots he faced for the shutout in his first ever SJHL playoff start. Head Coach and GM Mike Reagan decided to give starter Charlie Tritt the night off and the team never missed a beat.

The Bombers pride themselves on depth and they really proved it with 7 regulars out of the lineup including Ryder Mucha, Maverick Deslilse, Landon Alexander, Keaton Lesperance, Joey Lies, Ryder Knutson and Sam Ward.

This would give some of the other players on the team an opportunity to play and show what they could do in a pressure situation.

One of thos players was Jared Miskiw, who suited up for the first time in the playoffs. His line that included Nathan Lalumiere and AP call up Grant Gliege who  were sensational and gave the Bruins trouble every time they were on the ice.

They also provided the games first goal which ended up being the game winner. Lalumiere was behind the Estevan net and was able to feed a pass to Miskiw who tapped a shot between the legs of Bruins starter Dylan Adams late in the second period.

Connor Miller would score a big insurance goal just four minutes later, when he stripped a puck away from an Estevan defender and scored his second of the playoffs into the bottom right corner.

Flin Flon rode the 2 to 0 lead into the third period and had some tremendous chances to seel the game,  but couldn't get any more pucks past Dylan Adams who also got some help from a couple of goal posts.

Estevan got a late powerplay and pulled their goalie to go 6 on 4, but the Bombers held their ground and didn't allow the Bruins any goals to get back in the game and held on for the 2 to 0 win and series sweep.

Not only was this Werner's  first playoff shutout, but the third time he shut out the Bruins this season with a couple coming in the regular season. Flin Flon out scored Estevan 15 to 5 in the four games.

There were a lot of factors that went into the Bombers winning this series four straight. Estevan could not match the Bombers depth, especially the third and fourth lines who rarely saw the ice for the Bruins. Estevan's top line of Ewen Rennie, Rylan Williams and Cash Olson played a ton and were absolutely gassed by the end of game four.

The Bombers ran four lines evenly and won the special teams battle going 2 for 12 with the extra attacker while not allowing the Bruins any powerplay goals in the four games going a perfect 12 for 12 on the PK.

Flin Flon also played exceptional away from the puck and limited the quality chances in fron of their net. The atmosphere was also incerdible for the first two games in Flin Flon at the Whitney Forum and helped set the tone for the Bombers winning games one and two at home.

Head Coach and GM, Mike Reagan was very excited with the series sweep and shared these comments after game four. " You know when you have 9 defensemen that can play a top 4 role on any team , you feel pretty confident with that back end. I think there are things we have to improve on and I think there are things we learned throughout this series which is great. I think the most important thing for this team is rest, with as many guys that we have had banged up the  last couple of months and the toll it has taken on some of the guys that have come back. This will give us roughly 9 days rest before the next series starts in Flin Flon."

The Bombers do not know their opponent as the three other Quarter Final Series are still going, but will have home ice no matter what with Flin Flon  being the top seed.

The SJHL Semi Final Series will start in Flin Flon most likely on Friday April the 3rd, but will not be announced officially til the Bombers know who their opponent will be. This will be the fifth straight season for the Bombers in the Semi-Finals,  as they keep pushing in trying to bring home the team's first League Championship since 1993.

Tickets for the SJHL Semi Final will start to be sold at the Bomber office next week.

The high school basketball season has come to an end with both the Senior Hapnot Queens and Senior Koidiak girls in action for the last time.

The Queens were in Warren for Senior Girls Provincials and dropped both their games to Immanuel Christian 72 to 50 then 67 to 47 to the Westpark Royals.

Unfortunately the Queens ran into injuries and lost two of their starters and just ran out of gas after that.

It was still a very good season that saw the Queens win their fourth straight Zone title, so congratulations to the coach's Eric Rogalka, Tara Ductkawich and the rest of the Queens on another successful year.

The Senior Creighton Kodiaks Girls  were in Indian Head Saskatchewan for Saskatchewan Basketball Regionals.

The Kodiaks started  off with a 71 to 55 loss to Outlook but rebounded with a 55 to 39 win against Langenburg and ended up winning the Consolation.

This was a very good showing for the Kodiaks who played very well,  despite only having 7 players and look forward to another basketball season next year.

The Flin Flon Bombers took care of business at the Whitney Forum this past weekend and are up two games to none in their SJHL Quarter Final Series against the Estevan Bruins.

On Friday, the Bombers fed off the crowd and came out hard and scored three quick goals before the game was even ten minutes old.

It took just over three minutes for Flin Flon to find the back of the net when Sam Ward collected his first ever SJHL playoff goal. Ward fired a puck from the blue line that beat Dylan Adams  up high over his right shoulder to electrify the fans in attendance.

That ended up being all the offense that the Bombers would need as they ended up shutting out the Bruins 5 to 0.

Rhett Ewen and Daniel Morozov also found the back of the net in the opening period as the Bombers would jump out to a  3 to 0 lead after the first period.

Sam Ward would end up picking up his second of the night on the powerplay to put the Bombers up 4 to 0 after two. Reid  Arberry scored his first of the playoffs for a little extra insurance in the third period to cap the score at 5 to 0.

The SJHL Goalie Of The Year, Charlie Tritt got the start and picked up his first ever SJHL Playoff shutout with 17 saves. Charlie wasn’t very busy but was there,  anytime they needed a big save.

Bruins netminder Dylan Adams was far busier and ended up making 40 saves on 45 shots.

Specialty teams were a big part of the story with the Bombers going 2 for 4 on the man advantage while killing all 4 Bruin powerplays. Estevan didn’t get a single shot their first two powerplays and just couldn’t get in sync.

I knew the Bruins would be a lot better on Saturday night and they were. They made a lot of adjustments and didn’t give the Bombers nearly as much room to maneuver like they did the night before.

Saying that, Flin Flon still scored the first goal when Ryan Ulmer was able to fire a shot out of the corner that beat a screened Nathan Kam who gat the start in game two. I was a little surprised that Bruins Head Coach and GM, Drew Kocur made the change as I thought Adams played very well the night before.

As the night went on I realized why he did it.

Estevan answered the opening goal by Ulmer when Bruins defenseman Matthew Ronn got in alone on Charlie Tritt and beat him five hole to make it 1 to 1 after one.

The teams would trade goals in the second period with Daniel Morozov scoring his second in as many nights for the Bombers with Caleb Porter answering for Estevan.

Tied at two, it looked like Flin Flon was going to be able to end the game in regulation when Rhett Ewen scored his second of the playoffs on a nice wrap around from behind the Estevan net  early in the third period.

The Bombers really came out hard in the third out shooting the Bruins 22 to 14 and were just over a minute away from ending the game. With the goalie pulled and the extra attacker on the ice, former Bomber Ethan Andrews fired a puck from the blueline that re-directed off someone in front of the net to tie the game at three with 1:05 remaining in regulation.

The Whitney Forum crowd was stunned and Estevan got the game to OT, and were now only a goal away from a big upset and taking away home ice advantage.

The first OT settled nothing despite the Bombers out shooting the Bruins 14 to 5 including a couple of goal posts. Flin Flon kept coming and ended it early in the second overtime,  when Maverick Deslilse re-directed a Reid Arberry shot that went top shelf on Estevan goaltender Nathan Kam  to the delight of the thousand plus in attendance at the Whitney Forum.

I thought the roof was going to come off the place as it was one of the greatest ovations I have ever heard, and certainly one of the loudest. Flin Flon picked up the 4 to 3 win Double OT, despite one of the best goaltending displays I have ever seen from Nathan Kam.

Kam stopped 61 out of 65 shots and almost stole this one for his team with a lot of spectacular saves including many in the third period and the first overtime.

Charlie Tritt, the Bomber netminder was also very good and he made the save of the year in the first OT, when Bruins forward Carter Onrait had an open net to shoot at, but Tritt dove in the air and some how made the save to the delight of the home town crowd.

Flin Flon not only won the game but kept home ice advantage and are up two games to none in the SJHL Quarter Final with the series headed to Estevan for games three and four on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Puck drop both nights will be 8pm Manitoba time and will be broadcast on FLO TV and 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com.

It is the best time of the year if you are an SJHL hockey fan as the playoffs will begin tonight on all four fronts,  including the Flin Flon Bombers hooking up with their arch rivals from the South, the Estevan Bruins.

This will be their third playoff meeting since 2022 with the other two series going the max 7 games including their thrilling league final from 2022.

The Bombers enter the playoffs as the top seed after finishing the regular season with the league's  best record at 41-11-1-3 including a staggering 27-0-1 at home. Flin Flon was  the first SJHL club since 1981-82 to not lose in regulation at home, that is the year the  Prince Albert Raiders went 34-0 at home.

Estevan are the 8th seed and didn't qualify for the post season til the second last day of the regular season when they went into Weyburn and beat the Wings 5 to 2. The Bruins finished the year at 26-25-4-1.

The Bruins were decent at home at 17-11 but struggled on the road at 9-14-4-1.

Saying that,  Estevan is extremely dangerous offensively with the three of the top forwards in the league including Ewen Rennie who finished second in league scoring with 78 points including 37 goals.

Rennie was also selected the league's top forward and MVP and had a staggering 31 points on the powerplay. He also plays with  two pretty good players that he centres a line with including Rylan Williams and Cash Olson who led all rookies in scoring.

Williams came over from the Battleford Stars in a blockbuster trade before the season and ended up with 68 points including 25 goals.

If the Bruins are going to upset the Bombers in the first round,  all three of these players will need to have a monster series.

Flin Flon is led offensively by local product Joey Lies who had a breakout season with 54 points including 27 goals and  was able to accomplish that by missing 8 games. Lies also led his team in powerplay goals with 14. Reid Arberry was the only other Bomber who ended up in the top 20 in league scoring,  and the veteran 20 year old ended up with 51 points in 52 games including 23 goals.

The Bombers as a team finished second in overall scoring with 234 goals for in 56 games , and score by committee with 12 players finishing in double figures in goals  and feel they have four deep lines.

That may be one of the biggest differences in this series as Estevan may have a tough time matching their third and fourth lines.

Flon Flon feel they will have the edge in goal with Charlie Tritt the only Bomber to take home a  league award as he was awarded the league's top netminder finishing with a record of 23-9-2 and a league best GAA of 2.12 and save % of .934.

Estevan split their duties with Dylan Adams who went 12-15-3 and Nathan Kam who ended up 12-8-1, but it looks like the crease will be Adams at least to start the post season.

Flin Flon took three of the four regular season matchups and shut them out twice.

We all know the playoffs are a different season and I look forward to another great clash between two of the most histroric teams in the country. Games one and two at the Whitney Forum tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm.

The series will shift back to Affinity Place in Estevan next Tuesday and Wednesday with puck drop both nights, 8pm Manitoba time. Every single Flin Flon Bomber playoff game will be broadcast on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com.

Congratulations to Flin Flon Bomber netminder Charlie Tritt on being selected the Sasktel Goalie Of The Year.

One more accolade for Tritt who has unquestionably been the top netminder in the entire league from beginning to end.

Charlie started the year in Humboldt before being traded to the Bombers in a blockbuster deal on January the 10th. Tritt put up outstanding numbers this past season with a 23-9-2 record to go along with a league best 2.12 GAA and a save % of .934 and 5 shutouts.

Tritt is also the only player in the entire SJHL to have a NCAA Scholarship for next season as he will be attending Lake Superior State.

If the Bombers are going to capture their first league Championship since 1993 they will defenitely  need Charlie to stand tall and continue to deliver great goaltending night after night in the post season.

Flin Flon will open up the SJHL Playoffs against the Estevan Bruins on Friday at the Whitney Forum at 7:30pm.

The 2026 Hudbay Hockey Tournament will be played this weekend at the Whitney Forum.

There will be 4 teams competing this year including the Electrical Department, Boiler Makers, Lalor and the  Mill.

There will be two games scheduled Saturday with the Electrical taking on the Mill at 12:30pm and the Boilermakers taking on Lalor  at 2:30pm.

Round robin will continue through Sunday with the Final set to go at 4:30pm.

Good luck to the Creighton Kodiaks Senior Girls Basketball team who are off to Basketball Regionals in Indian Head Saskatchewan.

The Kodiaks first game is Friday at 8pm against the LCBI Lady Bisons at 8pm.

The winner of that game will advance to play the winner of the matchup between the host team  from Indian Head and Langenburg on Saturday.

So if the Kodiaks win,  they play Saturday at 1pm and if they lose they will play at 11am.

If the Kodiaks win both their games they would qualify for Hoopla in Moose Jaw the following weekend.

Flin Flon Minor Hockey will officially call it a season next Wednesday March the 25th,  with their Awards Gala at the Flin Flon Community Hall .

The event will start at 6pm and will be a celebration of a great year of Minor Hockey in Flin Flon and the Northern Region.

Awards will be presented to all players in every Division of FFMH as well as Officials.

There will also be speeches from the Flin Flon Minor Hockey President, Division Coordinators and draws for different prizes.

The public is welcome to come  out and help celebrate a fabulous season with Pizza and a gathering with  all the players, coach's and parents.

The Senior Hapnot Queens fresh off another Basketball Zone title will represent the North at Provincials in Warren starting this Thursday.

The Queens will take on Immanuel Christian in their first game on Thursday at 4pm.

The other 6 teams that are competing for a Provincial Basketball title include: the Rosenort Redhawks, Souris Sabres, Prairie Mountain, Warren Wildcats, Westpark Royals and Glenboro/Carberry.

Round robin games will continue through Thursday and Friday with the playoffs on Saturday with the Consolation Final at 10am, 3rd place game at noon and Championship Final at 2pm.

The SJHL Playoffs are only a few days away and the Flin Flon Bombers will meet the Estevan Bruins in the opening round starting this Friday at the Whitney Forum.

Here is the schedule of games in Manitoba time.

Game One- Friday March 20th-Whitney Forum Flin Flon 7:30pm

Game Two- Saturday March 21st-Whitney Forum Flin Flon 7:30pm

Game Three- Tuesday March 24th- Affinity Place Estevan 8pm

Game Four-Wednesday March 25th-Affinity Place Estevan 8pm

If necessary

Game Five- Saturday March 28th-Whitney Forum Flin Flon 7:30pm

Game Six- Monday March 30th-Affinity Place Estevan 8pm

Game Seven- Wednesday April 1st- Whitney Forum Flin Flon 7:30pm

All Flin Flon Bomber Playoff games will be broadcast on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com with SJHL Coach's Show 20 minutes before puck drop.

The Hapnot JV Queens were in Gladstone for Basketball Provincials this past weekend.

They dropped their first game to Glenboro/Carberry 64 to 47 to drop them down to the B-Side.

Hapnot then won a nail biter over Grandview/Gilbert Plains 63 to 62 that put them in the Consolation Final against Dufferin Christian.

The Queens won another close one 49 to 47 and wrap up their season with a Consolation Title. Jocelyn Kozar  was also named a Provincial All Star.

Congrats to the coach's Craig McIntosh, Tim Smith and the JV Queens on a great season.

The Senior Queens will be at Provincials this weekend in Warren starting on Thursday.

The annual Ladies and Men's Curling Bonspiels took place this past weekend at the Uptown Curling Club.

There was a good turn out with 14 Ladies rinks and ten on the Men's side.

Ladies results from yesterday afternoon.

A-Side- Sue Chrisp over Lorie Salahub 10 to 4

B-Side- Terry Kennedy squeeked by the Christine Evans rink out of Snow Lake 8 to 6.

C-Side- Debbie McCombie outlasted Wendy Weseen 7 to 6.

Men's Results

A-Side Final- Don Holmes beat Trevor Watt 6 to 5 in a game that went down to the very last rock.

B-Side- Tom Kozar doubled Mike Krychuk 8 to 4

C-Side it was Les Vancoughnett  in an extra end picking up a 7 to 6 win over Todd Boyd.

This will wrap up another great year of Curling in Flin Flon at the Uptown Curling Club and they look forward to seeing everyone back next year.

Flin Flon did a fantastic job of hosting Rural U-13 B Hockey Provincials this past weekend at the Whitney Forum.

9 teams from across the Province including the U-13 Kinsmen Bombers competed for a Provincial Championship.

The U-13 Bombers capped off a great season with an amazing weekend. The Bombers won both their round robin games against Springfield 11 to 2 and Russell 4 to 2.

The Bombers won their pool and advanced directly to the Semi-Finals where they were able to knock off the Souris Elks 9 to 2.

That set the stage for the top two teams in the tournament, the U-13 Kinsmen Bombers and Deloraine Royals, the matchup that everyone wanted to see.

In front of a packed Whitney Forum, both teams put on quite the show. It looked like Deloraine was going to spoil the party with a 2 to 0 lead midway through the third period and a very hot goalie who was stopping everything.

The Bombers were able to finally score on the powerplay when Brody Cooper got open in front of the Royals net to make it 2 to 1. Then with the Bomber  goalie pulled,  Cooper would get his second of the night in a wild goal mouth scramble to tie the game with less than a minute remaining in regulation.

Overtime was needed and the Bombers completed the comeback when Aiden Kemp jumped on a rebound less than two minutes in and fired it home sending the U-13 Kinsmen Bombers to the Provincial Championship.

The Whitney Forum went crazy and fans poured on the ice for the celebration.

A big congratulations to the coach's Jon Cooper, Ryan Bortis and all the players on a great weekend of hockey and capturing a Provincial Championship for the community.

A big thanks to the Co-Chairs Adam Ricard and Tanner Brough as well as all the parents, volunteers, sponsors and spectators for a wonderful weekend.

The SJHL regular season has come to an end and it was one of the most impressive in Flin Flon Bombers history. The Bombers will end the year at 41-11-3-1, good for 86 points and a first place overall finish.

The Bombers also went 27-0-1 at the Whitney Forum and are the first team in the SJHL since the 1981-82 Prince Albert Raiders to not lose a single game in regulation throughout the entire regular  season. Impressive indeed.

Flin Flon wrapped up the year this past weekend taking 3 of 4 points against the Laronge Ice Wolves including a 3 to 1 win on Friday night at the Whitney Forum.

Ice Wolf netminder Graham Brown had one of the best goaltending performances I have seen in a long time and he was the biggest reason the Bombers never blew them out.

The Bombers put up 47 shots in the game and 18 alone in the first period,  but Brown was rock solid and put on a performance for the ages with many dazzling spectacular stops.

Nathan Lalumiere was able to pocket his 8^th when he was alone in front of the Laronge net early in the second period and banged home a rebound to open the scoring for Flin Flon.

Kyle Marsden suited up for Flin Flon for the first time since the pre season and he ended up scoring the eventual game winner when he drove to the net and converted a beautiful Rhett Ewen pass for his first of the season on the powerplay.

The building erupted and the Bomber players mobbed Marsden as he skated by the bench after his big goal. Marsden just got cleared to play that day and seized the opportunity in what has been a frustrating season for the veteran Bomber Defenseman.

Laronge only managed 11 shots in the game but managed to make it a one goal game late in the third when Waylon Gardipy was left alone in front of the Bomber net and scored his 11^th of the season.

With the goalie pulled the Bombers one the faceoff in their own zone and Reid Arberry sent a shot down the ice that found the open net and Flin Flon picked up the 3 to 1 victory. The Bombers heavily outshot the Wolves 47 to 11,  but Graham Brown almost stole this one in his final game ever at the Whitney Forum as he is 20 and will age out after this season.  I am sure it is a game he will never forget.

These two teams would make their way to Laronge to finish the regular season in a Saturday matinee game at the Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre.

Once again goals were tough to come by and the Wolves managed to pick up their first win against Flin Flon this season  by squeaking out a 2 to 1 win in OT.

Brown was great again this time stopping 41 of 42 and the only goal to beat him was Rhett Ewen banging in a loose puck in front of the Wolf net late in the first period.

Laronge opened up the scoring just 1:17 into the opening period with Grayden Perozni finishing up a nice passing play with Waylon Gardipy and Oliver Chistiansen.

Finn Werner got the start and made some timely saves and ended up with 24 saves on 26 shots and ends the season at 13-2-0-1 with a very impressive save % of .925.

Waylon Gardipy had a great series  for Laronge as he had a three point weekend and scored the OT winner when he led a rush down the ice and snapped home his 12^th of the season.

The Burbot came flying on the ice as the Wolves won for just the 11^th time this season and were able to wrap up the season on a positive note.

Laronge did get a big lift late in the year when legendary bench boss Bob Beatty came out of retirement and took the coaching reigns in the absence of Kevin Kaminski who took a personal leave.

Beatty has had a lot of success in the SJHL and in Laronge where he won back to back league championships in the mid 2000’s. The kids really took to him and were playing a lot better at the end of the season.

It will be interesting to see what Laronge does heading into next year to try and turn the franchise around.

Flin Flon will now prepare for the SJHL Playoffs and their first round opponent the Estevan Bruins. The Bombers are the top seed while the Bruins snagged the 8^th and final spot on the second last day of the season.

This will be the third playoff meeting between these two teams since 2022 and both those series went the full 7 games including a very exciting league final in 2022. This looks like a mismatch on paper with the Bombers finishing 29 points higher than the Bruins, but we all know anything can happen at playoff time.

The series is expected to start at the Whitney Forum this Friday and Saturday before heading south the following Tuesday and Wednesday but nothing is confirmed.

Flin Flon took 3 of the 4 regular season meetings but Estevan has some very dangerous players and the Bombers have been battling a ton of injuries so we will see what happens. I am sure it won’t take long to rekindle this great rivalry.

The biggest weekend in Flin Flon curling will start  tonight at the Uptown Curling Club. with the Men's and Ladies Bonspiels.

There will be 14 Ladies rinks and 10 for the Men.

The first draw will take place tonight  at 5pm.

In the Ladies Draw- Sue Chrisp takes on Suzie Reid, Hanson VS Kristina Lies, Kyla Reierson against Debbie McCombie and Diane Burwash will square off with the Christianson rink from Snow Lake.

In the Men's Draw it will be Les Vancoughnett taking on Don Rose and Tom Kozar will meet up with Trevor Watt.

There will be another draw tonight at 8pm, Saturday at 9am, noon, 3pm and 5pm,  Sunday at 10am and the finals at 1pm.

The SJHL announced their Award Finalists from the past season yesterday on all their social network platforms.

Congratulations to three members of the Flin Flon Bombers on their nominations.

Charlie Tritt has been nominated for the Sasktel Goalie Of The Year . Tritt's season has been nothing short of fantastic with a 22-9-2 record to go along with a .934 save % and a 2.69 GAA. Tritt also leads the league in shutouts with 5, and is off to the NCAA next year to play for Lake Superior State.

Mike Reagan has once again been nominated for the SCSA Coach Of The Year. Reagan has guided the Bombers to another 40 win season for first overall and home ice advantage throughout the entire playoffs. This has been a special year for Reagan which saw him coach his 1000th game behind the Bomber bench and pick up his 600th coaching victory.

There is a new award this year which is the Sherwood Dayna Brons Athletic Therapist Award. Congratulations to Flin Flon Bomber Trainer and Athletic Therapst Jason Savill on his nomination. Savill has been with the Bombers the last several seasons and has had the opportunity to work on the International stage at the World JR A Challenge on a couple different occasions including this past season in Trois Rivieres Quebec.

The Norman Minor Hockey Association has been working on some things.

They have created a new website to help share information at normanregionalminorhockey.com. This will help keep you up to date on Minor Hockey in our Region as well as programs offered by Hockey Manitoba.

Norman Executive positions will be up for election at  the Spring AGM.

They include Director Of Minor, Treasurer and Female Minor Director.

If you know of a volunteer who deserves recognition in your association, you can nominate them for a NMHA Volunteer Award by filling out a nomination form on the NMHA Facebook page.

You can nominate Coach's, Officials and Administration with the deadline May the 1st. 

The Phantom Lake Soccer Club is preparing for their up coming season and are looking for some coach's to volunteer their time.

They will need coach's in the Timbits Divisions U-3/U-5 and U-7 Divisions.

If you are interested in helping out you can reach out to Heather about the coaching opportunities and how to get involved.

Anyone who is interested can send an e-mail to presidentplsc@gmail.com.

The Phantom Lake Soccer Club is getting ready to celebrate it's 40th year in Flin Flon and online registration has started.

You can sign up the kids for all the divisions at phantomlakesoccer.com with the season to start towards the end of April and early May.

They may start the season indoors depending on the condition of the fields. 

The PLSC is also recruiting Division Coordinators and Travel Coach's for various age groups and you can click on the Ramp Coach registration form on the Phantom Lake Soccer Website.

The Soccer Club is also asking anyone who may not have returned their Jerseys  from last season to please return them as soon as possible to help them get  ready for the up coming season.

After a tight couple periods last night the Flin Flon Bombers exploded for four goals in the third period to beat the Nipawin Hawks 5 to 1 and picked  up their 40th win of the season.

The Bombers really showed their depth as they were able to get the job done despite not having 9 regulars in the lineup last night. 7 players sat out due to nagging injuries and the Bombers lost Reid Arberry early to a fight and Nash Holmes left after receiving a high stick.

Flin Flon didn't allow that to slow them down and Joey Lies opened the scoring with a beautiful powerplay goal converting a nice one timer from Xavier Fauchon.

This was Lies team leading 26th of the year and 13th on the powerplay.

Nipawin would tie the game in the second period when Brady Seabrook took advantage of a Bomber turn over in their own zone and picked up his 4th of the year.

With the game tied at 1 entering the final period,  it didn't take long for the Bombers to get the game winning goal when Nathan Lalumiere was able to redirect a Pierce Yakimchuk shot from the blueline to pick up his 7th of the year, just 23 seconds in.

The Bombers kept rolling after that with Daniel Morozov (10), Rhett Ewen (10) and Joey Lies scoring his second of the night and 27th of the season all finding the back of the net to make the final 5 to 1.

This was Flin Flon's 6th win against the Hawks this season and league leading 40th win overall.

Finn Werner was fantastic for the Bombers and he made a lot of key saves, especially in the second period when the Hawks were turning it on and fired 11 shots, only beating him once. Werner improves to 13-2 on the season to go along with a .925 save %.

Gage Roberts did everything he could to keep the Hawks in it and ended up with 28 saves on 32 shots. Rhet Ewen scored his goal into the empty net.

The Bombers will close out the regular season this weekend with a home and home against the Laronge Ice Wolves at home on Friday, then off to Laronge for a Saturday afternoon game.

Flin Flon clinched first place overall on the weekend and are now a league best 40-11-2-1 including an incredible 26-0-1 at the Whitney Forum. If the playoffs were to start today Flin Flon would face the Estevan Bruins in the opening round.

It was a tough loss for Nipawin last night who failed to move into a tie with Battleford and Yorkton for second  and sit tied with the fourth place Weyburn Red Wings with 70 points.

Weyburn could still clinch second with two games remaining while the Hawks only have one game remaining against the Melfort Mustangs on Friday night.

It will be interesting and we may not know the final standings til the last day of the season.

Flin Flon Creighton Minor Ball is preparing for their 2026 season.

Registration will open up online on March the 20th and there will be a $20.00 discount for all players returning from 2025.

You can sign up the kids for every division including 5-U all the way up to 18U.

The fees are $70.00 for 5-U to 9-U, $85.00 for 11U to 18U.

The first 100 registrants will be entered for a chance to win a free registration with the draw coming up on May the 15th.

You can sign up by going to ffcrminorbaseball@gmail.com.

Flin Flon Minor Hockey is getting ready for a big weekend of hockey action  with

U-13 B Provincials set  to start this Friday.

9 teams will be taking part including the host U-13 Kinsmen Bombers.

Flin Flon's first game is this Friday at 2pm against Springfield, then they will take on Russell Saturday at 10:45am.

Playoffs will start Saturday at 4: 30 pm with all the finals slated to go on Sunday.

The Consolation Final will be at 2:15pm, the Bronze Medal game at 4:15 and the Gold Medal game at 6:15pm.

FFMH is still looking for some volunteers to help out with Provincials this weekend including front gate, music, 50/50  and Penny Parade.

If you are interested in helping out you can contact volunteercoordinatorffmh@gmail.com. 

The biggest day of the year took place at the Flin Flon Ski Club this past weekend, the 51st annual Val and Ivor Hedman Centaloppet.

39 people of all different ages came out to enjoy the best trails in North America.

When it was all said and done with their handicapping system  Angie Simpson is the Centaloppet Champion this year.

Michael Dumenko came second and Luke Unrau was third.

Fastest Time overall- Charlotte Unrau

Junior Ladies Champ- Anni Plamondon

Senior Ladies- Ruth Unrau

Senior Mens Champ- Dean Grindle

Youth Girls- Lucy Dumenko

Youth Boys- Mathew Unrau

Under 10 Boys- Michael Dumenko

Under 10 Girls- Daisy Spencer

A big thank you to all the volunteers, sponsors and participants for making the Centaloppet a big success again this year.

The Northern Stars Club Volleyball team comprised of players all from Flin Flon were in Regina for the QCVC Tournament.

The Stars were competitive and ended up dropping their first game 2 set to one to Moose Jaw. The Stars then beat North Dakota 2-0, lost to the host team 2-1, lost 2 to 1 to Winnipeg, 2 to 0 to Warman,then beat Off Speed  from Winnipeg 2 to 0.

The Stars ended up 15th out of the 20 team tournament and played very well with all the matches very tight.The Stars  will be back in Regina for the Prairie Classic March the 27th to the 29th.

The U-18 CO-OP Bombers had a weekend they won't forget as they went down to MacGregor to compete in Provincials.

The Bombers lost their first game to the home team 4 to 2 but Flin Flon rebounded with a 6 to 4 win against Pembina as they scored three goals in the third period and that would seed them fourth.

Flin Flon entered the playoff round and would face the Springfield Ice Hawks and were able to once again  battle from behind and ended up winning 4 to 3 in OT.

The Bombers would get another chance at MacGregor in the Semi- Finals and this time the Bombers prevailed 3 to 1 and would get a chance to play for the Gold medal.

Flin Flon faced the  Niverville Clippers  and gave up the first goal, but the Bombers were a team of destiny all weekend and would respond with the next three for the 3 to 1 win and ended up winning the Provincial Championship.

Bomber goal scorers were Nik Linklater, Jace Loroff and Bretton Donavan.

Congratulations to Head Coach Corey Grant and the rest of the U-18 CO-OP Bombers on bringing Flin Flon a Provincial Championship.

There was another Provincial Hockey Championship for a team in Northern Manitoba.

The U-15 Pas Huskies hosted Provincials this past weekend and really got rolling after a slow start.

The Huskies lost their first game to Russell 3 to 1 on an empty netter, then ended up in a 3 all tie with Brandon.

The Pas then knocked off Virden 3 to 0 and picked up a convincing 9 to 1 win against Morden.

That would put the Huskies in the Gold Medal game and another chance against Russell who was their only loss in the tournament.

The Huskies would get redemption and picked up the 3 to 1 win and are Provincial  Champions. Their are 5 players from Flin Flon who suited up for this team and they include Jaeger Dominey,Brody Linklater, Cache Bentley,Cohen Banting and Hayden Biberdorf.

It was a very good weekend for the Flin Flon Bombers who took both games against the Battleford Stars at the Whitney Forum  including a 4 to 3 OT win on Friday night.

Flin Flon jumped out 2 to 0 in the opening period on goals from Joey Lies who netted his 25^th and Ryan Ulmer who picked up his 9^th.

The great season for Joey Lies continues as he has a new career high in goals and has never scored more than  5 in a season and has also hit 50 points and continues to lead his team in scoring.

Kobe Sawyer would  cut the deficit to 2 to 1 with a powerplay marker late in the opening frame to get the Stars on the board.

This was a great game that went back and forth and the Stars would tie it when Eric Marks was able to bang home a rebound early in the second.

The teams would continue to trade goals with Jack Martin once again putting Flin Flon in front before Kobe Sawyer would not his second of the night and 17^th of the year with less than a minute remaining in the second period. Neither team could muster a goal in the third period and the two  teams would have to settle it three on three.

Flin Flon looked way more confident and composed in extra time than they did the week earlier when they dropped the OT decision to the Melfort Mustangs a week ago Saturday.

The Bombers went to the attack right away and Jack Martin was able to take advantage of a beautiful Daniel Morozov pass and convert his second of the night and 16^th of the season for the OT winner.

Both goalies were great with Flin Flon’s Charlie Tritt stopping 28 out of 31 and the Stars Kaeden Serpa was a little busier with 35 saves on 39 shots.

This was a huge win for Flin Flon for a few different reasons as they were able to officially clinch first place with their 38^th win of the year. It was also a big bounce back game after Flin Flon suffered their first home loss of the year the week before.

I know Head Coach and GM Mike Reagan was looking for a big bounce back game and his team gave him that.

Saturday it was the Bomber penalty kill and the play of goaltender Charlie Tritt that carried Flin Flon to the 4 to 0 victory.

Reid Arberry was able to break out with a couple of goals including a powerplay marker late in the first for his 21^st of the season which stood up as the game winner.

Arberry would score the only goal of the second when he capitalized on a beautiful setup from Connor Miller who won the faceoff, chased down the loose puck back of the Battleford net and fed the pass to Arberry,  who finished the play with a beautiful back hand.

The Bombers got a couple of insurance goals in the third period from Jack Martin who added his third of the weekend and 17^th of the season and Xavier Fauchon who picked up number 8 on the powerplay.

Charlie Tritt was absolutely fantastic and ended up turning away all 34 Battleford shots for his league leading 5^th shutout of the season. This may have been the best game I have seen Tritt play who was really dialled in.

Kaeden Serpa played good for the Stars for  the second straight night and couldn’t be faulted for any of the four goals he gave up on the 41 shots he faced.

The Bomber penalty kill was outstanding and kept the Stars at bay all night and killed all five Star man advantages, with the Bomber powerplay ending up 2 for 3.

Head Coach and GM Mike Reagan commented on the game winning goal by Reid Arberry on Saturday night. “ You talk about guys that are having fantastic years, Reid has been real good and you look at Lies who picked up his 50^th point on Friday night . These two guys were depth players for us the last two years and it go’s to show you that if you buy in and believe and are coachable you get rewarded. Both those guys have definitely done that, very proud of them and they  have been a big part of our success.”

Flin Flon will improve to a league best 39-11-2-1 and have three games remaining in the regular season.

The Bombers will host Nipawin on Tuesday night and close out the regular season this weekend against the Laronge Ice Wolves. The Laronge games should be interesting as SJHL Legend Bob Beatty is back behind the Wolves bench for the remainder of the year.

Bob has stepped in for Kevin Kaminski who took a personal leave and Beatty returns to the team that he guided to two League Championships in the mid 2000’s. It will be great to see Bob again who I am sure has some fond memories of the Whitney Forum from not only his time in Laronge but also from his time in Humboldt.

The Wolves will be in Flin Flon Friday, then the Bombers will  head to Laronge for the final game on Saturday afternoon.

Playoffs will begin on Friday March the 20^th and with the Bombers clinching first place on the Weekend will have home ice throughout the entire playoffs.

The NRHMA has announced the Regional Coach's for the upcoming 2026-27 season. These dedicated individuals bring a wealth of experience and expertise to their respective roles.

U-13 AA  Tanner Brough from Flin Flon. This will be a new program this year.

U-15 AAA Northstars- Jacques Abgrail- Thompson

U-15 AAA Wild- Rene Gagnon from Snow Lake. Rene has been an assistant with the team the last two seasons.

U-17 AAA Northstars- Wendel Chubb from Norway House. This program will support the U- 18 AAA Norman Northstars.

There were no applicants for the U-18 Wild.

For more information you can visit the website normanregionalminorhockey.com.

The Flin Flon Bombers are back on the ice this wekend as they will host the Battleford Stars in a pair of games on Friday and Saturday.

Saturday is Hockey Night In The North which is a free game where residents from Flin Flon, Creighton, Denare Beach and all the surrounding communities will be able to come out with their families and enjoy the great atmosphere for free.

A big thanks to the sponsors of this event including The City of Flin Flon,Town of Creighton, Village of Denare Beach, Flin Flon School Division and Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation.

The Bombers remain first overall at 37-11-2-1 but should get a real good test this weekend from the Stars who are third overall at 33-14-3-2 and remain just one point behind second place Yorkton with 4 game remaining in the season.

Puck drop both nights is 7:30pm.

Congratulations  to Flin Flon's Hunter Lee who is making quite the name for himself in the MMA.

Lee was a very accomplished amateur wrestler winning medals all over the world and decided he wanted to try his hand in the Octagan.

Lee took on Keanan Patershuk of Rossland BC in the Main Event for the Middleweight Championship at Unified 67 which took place in Calgary this past Saturday.

In just his 7th fight, Lee was impressive and knocked Patershuk out to walk away with the Middleweight Championship in front of lots of friends and family who made it to Calgary to watch the  fight.

Hunter who fights out of Saskatoon and  fights  under the handle Big Game Hunter ,  has never forgotten his roots in Flin Flon and continues to work and train very hard in the MMA.  

Lee is one of the best prospects in the country and it  is only a matter of time before he is able to land a contract with the UFC.

The Pas U-11 Female  Huskies  will also be participating in Provincials this weekend when they travel to Elkhorn for U-11B Provincials.

There are four girls from Flin Flon on the team including Lauryn Smalley, Sawyer Philips, Tessa Lewis and Isabella Bruschett.

The Huskies will kick things off against Macdonald on Friday at 5:15pm, then play Roblin at 10:30am on Saturday.

Playoffs begin Saturday at 3:15pm and all the finals on Sunday including the Consolation at 2:45pm, the Bronze Medal game at 4:45pm and the Gold Medal game at 6:45pm.

The U-18 CO-OP Bombers are off to Provincials in MacGregor this weekend and are in a pool with the Pembina Blizzard and MacGregor Mustangs.

Flin Flon's first game will be against the host team from MacGregor at 7:30 pm on Friday. The Bombers will then play Pembina on Saturday at 12:15pm.

Playoffs will start Saturday at 4:15pm with the Consolation Final on Sunday at 1pm followed by the Bronze Medal game at 2:45pm and the Gold Medal game at 4:45pm.

U-15 Provincials are happening in The Pas this weekend and there are 5 players from Flin Flon playing for the host Huskies. They are Jaeger Dominey,Brosy Linklater,Cache Bentley, Cohen Banting and Hayden Biberdorf.

The Pas will kick off Provincials against Russell on Friday at 11am, then play Brandon at 4:15pm. The Huskies will play two more round robin games on Saturday against Virden at 11:45am and Morden at 6pm.

The Bronze Medal game will go on Sunday 10am and the Gold Medal game will go at noon. 

It has been quite the season for the Flin Flon Bombers and three year player Pearce Yakimchuk.

Fresh off being nominated for the Bombers RBC Community Ambassador Award, Yakimchuk was just named the Victoria Inn Player Of The Month for February.

Yakimchuk had a great month that included 7 points in 9 games and a plus 10 in the 9 games played. So far this season Yakimchuk has picked up 28 points in 48 games including 8 goals which are both career highs.

The Flin Flon Bombers are trying to get healthy as they prepare for the high flying Battleford Stars who will be at the Whitney Forum for a pair of games this weekend.

The Bombers remain first overall at 37-11-2-1, while the Stars are third overall at 33-14-3-2, one point behind Yorkton.

Puck drop both nights is 7:30pm and we will broadcast Saturday's game on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com.

Even though there is still lots of snow on the ground and winter isn't quite done, Flin Flon Creighton Minor Ball is looking forward to another season.

Online registration is going to start on March the 20th.

You will be able to sign the kids up in the 5-U,7-U, 9-U,11-U,13-U,15-U and 18-U Divisions.

They hope to officially start the season in early May and will be playing at Creighton and Centoba.

You can sign up by clicking on the link creightonball.ramppreregistrations.com.

You can also continue to get information leading up to the season by going to the Flin Flon Creighton Minor Ball facebook page.

The Uptown Curling Club in Flin Flon will be hosting both the Ladies and Men's Curling Bonspiels March the 13th to the 15th.

It is $200.00 to sign up for both bonspiels with the deadline to sign up March the 8th.

To sign up for the Ladies contact Theresa at 204-509-2201 or Terry at 204-271-3247.

To sign up for the Men's contact Lyle at 204-271-0706.

Out of town teams are more than welcome to sign up.

Congratulations to the Pas Female  Huskies who won the U-13B  Female Provincials in Birtle Manitoba this past weekend.

The Huskies beat MacDonald, Brandon and Morden in the round robin and clinched a spot in the final.

The Huskies went on to beat the Neepawa Titans 2-0 to capture the Provincial Championship. There are seven   girls from Flin Flon on the team and that includes Rylee Sproxton, Kendall Leclair, Annabelle McKinnon,  Emelia McKinnon, Brynn Taylor, Alexa Vancoughnett and Charlotte Nabe.

This caps off an incredible year for the Huskies who won all six tournaments that they played in.

The Northland Ford  Lightning were down at U-11 D Provincials in Manitou and they went 0-2 in the round robin losing to the host team from Manitou 8 to 4  and then 6 to 1 to Lorette.

The Bombers would get to play in the Consolation game against MacGregor and lost a heart breaker 3 to 2. The kids played their hearts out and had a good season.

It was  the biggest weekend in Northern High School Basketball as Zone Playdowns took place.

The Girls Zones  took place in Norway House and the Hapnot Queens went in as the number one seed.

The Queens didn't disappoint and went 3-0 in the round robin beating MBCI out of The Pas, Frontier out of Cranberry and Norway House.

That punched Hapnot's ticket to the final and the Queens beat Frontier 53 to 28 to capture the Queens fifth straight Senior Girls Basketball Zone Championship.

Hapnot will now represent the North at Provincials in Warren March the 19th to the 21st.

The Boys Zones took place in The Pas.

The Hapnot Kings went 1-1 in the round robin losing their first game to the Frontier Raiders, but rebounded to beat Nisichawayasihk.

That put them in the playoff round where the Kings were able to beat Norway House 72 to 48 and finished third.

MBCI out of The Pas won the Zone and beat Frontier out of Cranberry in the final 101 to 54 and are ranked third in the entire province. 

MBCI are off to Provincials the weekend of March the 19th to the 21st in Gimli.

The Melfort Mustangs showed the Flin Flon Bombers why they are the hottest team in the SJHL  as they brought a nine game winning streak into their  home and home series this past weekend.

The Mustangs hosted the first game on Friday and the Bombers got off to a great start and scored the first two goals.

Nathan Lalumiere opened up the scoring with his 6^th of the season and Wyatt Stinton scored his 15^th  shortly after on the powerplay as the Bombers looked good early building up a  2 to 0 lead.

The Mustangs answered late in the opening period as Nolan Patterson was able to jump on a juicy rebound in front of the Bomber net and beat Finn Werner, with only ten seconds remaining in the opening frame.

This sparked Melfort who would score the next three goals courtesy of Dru Mushumanski, Carter Bilous and Patterson picking up  his second of the game putting the Mustangs up 4 to 2 after two.

You knew the Bombers were going to push hard in the third and they did with Landon Alexander able to pot his 12^th of the year taking advantage of a mad scramble in the Mustang crease.

Despite firing 15 shots on Madden Mulawka, Flin Flon could only get one puck past him and fell at the Northern Lights Palace 4 to 3.

Both goalies played very well with Mulawka  stopping 39 out of 42 and he was the difference in the game. The Melfort goaltenders are one of the big reasons the Mustangs are back in a playoff spot and have been incredible down the stretch.

Finn Werner stopped 21 out of 25 and suffered just his second regulation loss of the year and falls to 12-2 on the year.

The two teams would prepare for the rematch on Saturday night at the Whitney Forum and the Bombers liked their chances as they have been indestructible at home this season at 23-0.

The Mustangs came in with confidence and were rewarded with the first goal when 19 year old Tristan Ziola flew down the right side and beat both Bomber defenseman and out waited Chaelie Tritt with a sweet move for his 9^th of the year.

Joey Lies got the Bombers even with his team leading 24^th , when he snuck a back hander by Kason Kobelka.

Ziola was at it again and this time he grabbed a loose puck in his own zone and marched down the ice and blew past all five  Bomber’s and finished off with a tap in between the legs of Tritt.

It was one of the nicest goals I have definitely seen all season.

Flin Flon was able to fight back and tie the game, taking  advantage of one of their few powerplay chances  with Leo Seitz scoring low glove side on Kobelka. Defenseman Xavier Fauchon made a great play to keep the puck in the Melfort Zone and then  fed the  nice pass to Seitz who converted.

This tied the game at two after one period  and neither team could find the back of the net for  the rest of  regulation.

I thought the Bombers dictated the pace for the first two periods but started to run out of gas early in the third and Melfort started to get some really good chances and carried the momentum into overtime.

Melfort jumped on the Bombers right away and had them on their heels and didn’t allow Flin Flon any momentum what so ever. One of the Mustang snipers in Zayden Sadlemyer took advantage of a nice pass from Noel Englot and ended the game with a shot off the left post and in.

This stunned the Bombers and the Whitney Forum crowd who tasted defeat for the first time this season after reeling off 23 straight home wins. The last time the Bombers lost a home game in the regular season was January the 5^th of 2025, 5 to 4 to Laronge in a shoot out, so you knew it had to happen some time but everyone was hoping the streak would continue.

The Bombers were disappointed,  but you have to admit that is a very impressive streak and sooner or later everyone loses, that is just the nature of the beast .

Melfort got great goaltending again from Kason Kobelka who stopped 32 of 34 while Charlie Tritt suffered the loss giving up 3 goals on 21 shots.

Head Coach and GM Mike Reagan had this to say after his team’s first loss at home on Saturday night. “ We have definitely played some great hockey in this building and we are hoping that continues here. It is disappointing but I have to give our guys credit as we lost Landon Alexander on the first shift and we are already short a forward tonight. We played with ten forwards and we have a lot of guys that are banged up right now. I thought the start of our third period was good but fatigue started to take over. We have had a good run here and we are still unbeaten in regulation in this building, but I think if we are healthy we don’t lose this game tonight.”

After the weekend the Bombers will slip to 37-11-2-1 and have 77 points which is 5 up on Yorkton who have passed the Battlefords for second overall.

How about the Melfort Mustangs who looked dead and buried back in January but have erupted for 11 straight wins and are 6^th overall at 27-20-2-2,  and are now just 6 points behind the fifth place Weyburn Red Wings.

It is going to be a very interesting finish.

The Bombers have 5 games remaining on the season and four are at the Whitney Forum including the Battleford Stars who make their way to the Whitney Forum this weekend. You couldn’t draw it up any better with both these teams battling for first overall and always play an exciting brand of hockey.

Should be very entertaining  and hopefully a great atmosphere with the playoffs only a few weeks away. Hoping for big crowds at the Whitney Forum all weekend.