Coming into Saturday night’s contest between the North Stars and the Bombers, Flin Flon had been one of the hottest teams in the SJHL, winning all six of their past games.
They would crawl back from a 2-1 deficit in the third period, scoring with a minute left, winning their seventh in a row and fourth of the year against the North Stars.
On the other end it was the Battlefords offence that had only managed two tallies in their last 120 minutes played, something that just hasn’t made much sense coming from the highest powered offence in the SJHL.
They scored two in the first period tonight.
Connor Sych kicked off the scoring with an absolute bomb from the point deflected by Dustin Gorgi just as their first power play ended.
At the other end it was Taryn Kotchorek coming up with a massive post-to-post save to rob Flin Flon of their equalizer.
One of the problems of the Bombers has been their depth this year. Alex Smith, Joel Kocur and Brandon Switzer have been dominant, all top 10 in scoring. From there, it is a massive drop off, with the next player registering in at 60th in the SJHL for points.
They didn’t need much depth tonight, while the three of them combined for 7 points.
Smith tied the game in the first period after jumping on a loose puck in the slot, snapping a wrist shot just under the glove of Kotchorek.
With 20 seconds left Jake McMillen restored the one-goal lead with a blast from the left wing that just trickled through the pads of Bombers netminder Zac Robidoux.
It was tough to break into the heart of the defence for either sides during the second period. A lot of neutral zone play, harmless shots from the perimeter, and a scoreless frame was the result.
The Bombers started off the third period with a power play, and they capitalized. A cross crease pass had Kotchorek go post-to-post and in perfect position, but, somehow, Brandon Lesko snuck the puck through his five hole for his fourth of the season.
With a minute left to play it was Jordan Wiest who broke his stick on a slap shot. Switzer took the puck in transition and went one-on-one with a stickless Wiest. The forward was able to get deep into North Stars territory because of it and sniped a shot past a screen Kotchorek and into the top right corner.
“It was a good shot and beat our goalie clean. What are you going to do when he breaks his stick. You can blame Sherwood for that one.” Coach Kevin Hasselberg said.
The Battlefords now prepare for another test against Estevan tomorrow. They are 2-1 against them on the season and it is their last game before the Christmas break. Puck drop is 5 p.m.
News-Optimist THREE STARS
1) Brandon Switzer (1 G, 2 A)
2) Alex Smith (1 G, 1 A)
3) Coby Downs (2 A)
