It has been 19 days since the Flin Flon Bombers were on the ice and they will see their first action of the new year tonight.
The number one team in Canada will face off against the Nipawin Hawks who hit the ice for the first time in the new year on Wednesday when they beat Kindersley 7 to 3.
Flin Flon enters the second half of the season with a league best record of 28-1-2 and Nipawin is just under.500 at 15-16-0-2.
Tonight's game at the Whitney Forum will be the third meeting of the year between the two teams with Flin Flon winning both games which were played in Nipawin on October the 24th 3 to 2 and opening night back on September the 22nd 5 to 2.
The Bombers bolster the top offensive group in the league with 5 of their players in the top ten in scoring including overall leader Justin Lies who has 51 points in 30 games.
Right behind him is Alexi Sylvestre with 49 points, Jacob Vockler with 45, Noah Houle with 42 and Carter Anderson with 37. Anderson also leads the league with a staggering 15 powerplay goals.
Flin Flon also has the top two goalies in the league with Harmon Laser Hume, the former Hawk coming into tonight with a league best save percentage of .935. Kenny Marquart right behind him at .922. Laser Hume also leads the league in wins with 19.
Nipawin has made a few changes since the Bombers saw them last in October. The Hawks have added stud defenseman Liam McInnis from Laronge and the veteran d-man hasn't disappointed picking up 11 points in 6 games since the trade.
The Hawks have also added the OCN Blizzard's top sniper from last year in Alex Bernauer. Bernauer picked up the hat-trick in the win over Kindersley on Wednesday and has picked up 22 points in 20 games so far this year.
Nipawin is definately deeper since the last time they faced the Bombers.
I am looking forward to the game tonight featuring two explosive offensive teams that have the two deepest forward groups in the league. This will be fun to watch tonight and you have a feeling these two teams could be on a collision course to meet in the playoffs.
No broadcast on radio tonight but we make our 2024 debut tomorrow night when the Bombers travel to Melfort. It all begins with the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:10 and drop of the puck from the Northern Lights Palace at 7:30.
