It was the showdown the whole hockey world was waiting for as the Flin Flon Bombers made their way to Battleford to face the Stars in a pair of games this past weekend.
This was their first meeting since the league final this past spring and they are the best two teams in the league this season. Flin Flon ranked number one in the country and Battleford who had reeled off ten straight wins are ranked number nine.
Friday was definately the best game I have witnessed all season as both these elite clubs went toe to toe in a back and forth game all night long.
Flin Flon was able to fight back on three separate occasions and took Friday's game 5 to 4 in OT.
Adam McNutt scored the winner when he took the terrific feed from Carter Anderson, raced in all alone and flipped a beautiful backhand over Matthew MacArthur's left shoulder for his biggest goal in a Bomber uniform.
Justin Lies, Alexi Sylvestre , Anthony Bax and Anthony Piccinnino also scored for Flin Flon with Hunter Burgeson, Kian Bell and Ben Portner with a pair replied for the Stars.
Both goalies were great with MacArthur making 46 saves and the Bombers Harmon Laser Hume ended up with 31 stops on 35 shots.
On Saturday they would change venues and made their way to the Battleford Arena. The ice dimensions are very simillar to the Whitney Forum and the Bombers looked very comfortable.
Carter Anderson has a superb weekend and after setting up the winning goal on Friday, scored a pair in leading Flin Flon to a 4 to 2 win in the rematch.
Anderson has hit 29 goals on the season which is only three behind team mate Justin Lies for the league lead.
Lies had a three point game with a goal and two assists and has 62 points in 37 games and is three points behind Kian Bell for the overall scoring lead.
The other goal was scored by rookie sensation Koen Senft who picked up his 7th after stepping out of the penalty box and finishing up a nice two on one with Lies.
Ben Portner and Alex Izyk scored the two Battleford goals.
Harmon Laser Hume was dialled in and any time his team needs him to play well he makes a statement. He did exactly that with a 36 save performance and continue to be the top netminder in the SJHL.
Logan Cunningham played well in a losing cause and ended up with 29 saves on 33 shots.
The Bombers remain the number one team in the country after their pair of wins on the weekend and improve to a staggering 34-2-2 and are the first team in the league to officially clinch a playoff spot.
Battleford will drop to 29-8-3-1 and are still second overall, 5 points up on the Melfort Mustangs.
There are no games scheduled in the league til Friday as the SJHL/MJHL Showcase will start in Winnipeg tomorrow. The Bombers will have 10 players taking part including Head Coach and GM Mike Reagan.
