In front of 1,586 fans at the Whitney Forum last night the Flin Flon Bombers rolled over the Estevan Bruins 7 to 1, and have evened up the best of 7 Canalta Cup Final at 2.

It was an absolutely electric atmosphere with the Bomber faithful out in full force to support their team once again.

Jacob Vockler scored just under 7 minutes into the opening period and the Maroon and White express never looked back.

Jaeden Mercier had a three point night including his 4th and 5th of the playoffs and Zac Smith also picked up 3 points including his 7th of the post season. Smith has 4 goals in the final alone.

The other Bomber goals came from Drew Kuzma who picked up his eighth while Ethan Antsey and Jaxon Martens both scored their first.

This was Antsey's first ever SJHL goal. Antsey came over in a trade with Cowichan Valley of the BCHL back on January the 10th,and was absoultely eladed finding the back of the net last night.

Flin Flon was able to get to Bruin starting goalie Boston Bilous who was pulled after the 5th Bomber goal. Bilous actually made some good saves once again but it wasn't his teams night.

Eric Pearce scored the lone goal for the Bruins on the power play early in the second period for his 9th of the post season.

Final shots were 43 to 25 in Flin Flon's favour. Cal Schell was good when he needed to be but didn't have as many shots to deal with like he saw in the first three games.

So now the best of 7 Canalta Cup Final is down to a best of 3 with the series tied at 2 and both clubs winning their two home games.

The Bombers will  try to be the first team to win on the road as the series will shift back to Estevan and Affinity Place this Saturday. With last night's win the Bombers have guaranteed a game 6 for the Whitney Forum on Tuesday.

We are back on the air with Creighton Furniture Flin Flon Bomber Playoff Hockey on Saturday with the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:45 and drop of the puck at 8pm Manitoba time.

The Flin Flon Bombers were once again able to rise to the occasion in front of a spirited and large crowd at the Whitney Forum last night in game 3 of the Canalta Cup Final.

In a game they absolutely had to have,  the Bombers pulled out a gutsy 4 to 3 win and now trail the best of 7 league final 2 games to 1.

Brett Wieschorster scored on the power play with just 58 seconds left in regulation to score one of the biggest goals of his career.

Flin Flon had a 3 to 1 lead but the very talented Bruins fought hard to tie the game mid way through the third  on a goal from Kade Runke his 6th of the playoffs.

It looked like the game was headed to OT for the first time in the series but the Bombers were able to score their first specialty team goal of the final.

Flin Flon wound up 1 for 6 with the extra attacker while Estevan was 1 for 5.

The other Bomber goals came from Drew Kuzma (7), Jaeden Mercier (3) and captain Zac Smith who collected his third of the series and 6th of the playoffs.

The Other Bruin goals were scored by the big duo of Mark Rumsey (7) and Olivier Pouliot (9) who have combined for 34 points so far this post season.

They sit first and second in overall playoff scoring.

Gabriel Shipper continues to lead the Bombers with 12 points in 14 games.

The goalies once again took centre stage with many highlight reel saves between them as Bilous kicked out 24  while Cal Schell was called upon 31 times.

This was by far the most intense game of the series and things were getting pretty heated at various times in the game including a shouting  match between the two coach's after the first period.

It looked like we may see a big donnybrook when Jamie Valentino thought it would be a good idea to grab the moose leg and skate off the ice with it.

As the Bombers celebrated, Valentino grabbed the Moose leg and was followed down the ice by a number of Bombers including Matt Raymond who was able to get it back.

This very well could be the motivation that the Bombers needed to take command in the series. We saw what happened to Weyburn a number of years ago when they tried the same thing. They haven't won a playoff series since.

Many fans were coming unglued as that is something you don't fool around with at the Whitney Forum. It is a huge tradition and has been a staple of Bomber games for decades.

Looking forward to game 4 tonight and hoping for 2000 plus at the Whitney Forum for the first time in over 20 years.

Join us for all the action tonight with Creighton Furniture Flin Flon Bomber Playoff Hockey at 7:30 and the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:10.

Hapnot Collegiate took part in Badminton Zones this past weekend in Thompson. They sent 19 athletes including 5 JV'S and 14 Seniors.

Congratulations to Amber McKenzie and Cailyn O'Haire who finished second in Girls Varsity Doubles and will compete in Provincials in Winnipeg on May the 6th and 7th.

Olivia Fernandes and Seth Ames got third in Varsity Mixed Doubles. Ethan Patterson placed third in Varsity Boys Singles and Hapnot was able to take the AA Zone Banner.

Hockey Manitoba has released the roster for the 2022 Male Under 16 program which will take place in Portage La Prairie MB on the weekend of May the 5th to the 8th.

The roster will include Wyatt Stinton from Flin Flon who is currently  playing for

the Rink Hockey Academy in Winnipeg. Stinton has 47 points in 30 games including 23 goals.

The final U16 Team Manitoba roster will compete at the 2023 Canada Winter Games which is scheduled to take place from February 18th to February 26th, 2023, in Prince Edward Island.

The U16 POE Top-40 Camp will see a total of forty-one (41) players invited, comprised of twenty-four (24) forwards, twelve (12) defencemen, and five (5) goaltenders. 

Creighton Recreation hosted an indoor soccer touurnament this past weekend at the Sportex with kids from all over Flin Flon, Creighton and the Pas taking part.

The Champions for the 2011-2013 age group was Team D, coached by Bradley Powell and Blake Shirran.

Players were: Brody Cooper, Quinlann Trubiak, Summer Wasylyk, Janae Neaufeld, Davin McKeen, Preston McKeen, Dex Tetlock and Corbin Taylor.

Champions for 2008-2010- Team 4 coached by Evin Davis and Rogan Hlady.

Players were : Brayden Church, Oliver Atchison, Jacob Miller, Abigail Dicks, Sadie Hynes, Westyn Hlady and Riley Trubiak.

A special thanks to all the coach's, refs, time keepers and the players. Also a big thanks to Northland Ford for their sponsorship, North Of 53 CO-OP for the snacks for the tote bags, Chicken Chef for running the concession and the PLSC for the use of nets, jerseys and balls.

The Bombers will return to the friendly confines of the Whitney Forum after dropping the first two games of the SJHL Canalta Cup Final in Estevan.

The Bruins took the first two this past weekend in Estevan by scores of 4 to 2 and 2-0.

On Friday,  the Bombers matched the Bruins chance for chance but had a tough time beating Bruins netminder Boston Bilous who was sensational in both games.

Bilous made 25 saves including some highlight reel ones on Jacob Vockler and Zac Smith. Vockler looked like he had him on a wrap around, but Bilous was able to get the left pad down to make an incredible save.

Bomber Captain Zac Smith was able to beat the Bruin veteran goalie early in the second,  when Bilous  collided with Gabriel Shipper at the side of the net, and Smith was alone out front to bang in a loose puck.

Smith also connected on  a nice feed in front of the Bruins goal late in the third to get the Bombers within a goal at 3 to 2 with just over 2 minutes left in regulation.

Estevan would seel it with an empty netter courtesy of Cody Davis with just a few seconds left and took the opener 4 to 2. The other Bruin goals were scored by Eric Houk, Dayton Deics and Caelan Fitzpatrick.

Saturday's game was delayed due  to a major storm in the Estevan area that knocked the power off at Afffinity Place and the game started an hour late.

With just over a minute remaining in the first period, the power went out again resulting in another stoppage. This one didn't last long and they did get things up and running about 15 minutes later.

I don't know if it was the delays or not but the Bombers came out flat and didn't have a very good first period being out shot 14 to 7.

Cal Schell kept them in the game and made a lot of  highlight reel saves himself especially early.

Olivier Pouliot was the difference maker on Saturday as he scored both the Estevan goals for a 2-0 victory.

The game winner was scored just over a minute into the second period when he fired a shot from inside the blue line that rattled off the post behind Cal Schell who I don't think saw the shot.

That would stand up til late in the third when Pouliot would hit the empty net with only 25 seconds remaining in the game. Pouliot continues to be the top points producer in the playoffs with 19 points including 8 goals.

Boston Bilous stopped all 26 shots fired in his direction and held off a late Bomber charge in the third. Jacob Vockler had a great chance on a clear cut  break away but Bilous made a great glove save.

Cal Schell kept his team in the game making 28 saves and was the best Bomber.

Estevan did what they had to do and lead the SJHL Canalta Cup Final 2 games to none with the series shifting to Northern Manitoba and the Whitney Forum for games 3 and 4, Tuesday and Wednesday.

We will need the full support of the fans once again with  what is now a must win for Tuesday. Flin Flon can not go down 3 games to none to a veteran Estevan team.

The fan support turned around the Battleford series and here is hoping for lightning in a bottle once again.

Don't forget to bring your radios and mobile devices to the rink both nights for Creighton Furniture Flin Flon Bomber Playoff Hockey including the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:15.

The SJHL announced their top players from the 2021-2022 season and a Flin Flon Bombers has been recognized.

The Mayfair Diagnostics Top Defenseman is Xavier Lapointe from Quebec City who had a season to remember  for the Maroon and White.

Lapointe led his team in scoring picking up 50 points in 58 games including 19 goals with 9 coming on the power play.

He also led all SJHL Defenseman in scoring finishing 8 points ahead of Humboldt's Noah Barlage. His 19 goals also led the league.

Lapointe came over from the North American Hockey League where he played for the Janesville Jets the previous two seasons.

In 67 games Lapointe netted 19 points.

So far in 10 playoff games Lapointe has picked up 3 points on the current Flin Flon Bomber run.

After this season with Flin Flon, Lapointe has committed to RIT of the NCAA.

Congratulations to Creighton School's Naomi Dickens  who has been selected to play in the Sask Senior Basketball Classic.

This game will take place in Moose Jaw this weekend.

Naomi is the first athlete from Creighton school to get a chance to participate in this prestigious event.

This will be a great opportunity to represent her school and her community.

The Canalta Cup Final is now just a few days away as the Flin Flon Bombers will be in search of their first league title since 1993. This will be the Bombers first  trip to the final since 2017.

Their opponent,  the Estevan Bruins will be trying for their first Championship since 1999.

The Final will start at beautiful Affinity Place this Friday.

Here is the complete schedule of games which will all be broadcast on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com. We are on the air 15 minutes before each face off with the Great North GM Coach's Show.

Game 1 Friday April 22nd in Estevan at 8pm (MB time)

Game 2  Saturday April 23rd in Estevan at 8pm (MB time)

Game 3 Tuesday  April 26th in Flin Flon at 7:30

Game 4  Wednesday April 27th in Flin Flon at 7:30

Game 5  Saturday April 30th in Estevan at 8 (MB time)

Game 6 Tuesday May 3rd in Flin Flon at 7:30

Game 7 Friday May 6th in Estevan at 8pm (MB time)

Flin Flon will be playing host to a JR Showcase for players born between 2002 and 2005.

This will take place at the Whitney Forum between May the 13th and 15th featuring the top prospects from Northern Manitoba, Northern Saskatchewan and Rankin Inlet.

Scouts will be attending from the SJHL, MJHL, SIJHL as well as scouts from 5 JR B teams have been confirmed.

Registration is open and the fee is $75.00 and you can call 431-346-0132.

Your last chance to register for FF/Creighton Minor Ball will take place this Saturday April the 23rd.

It will take place at the Creighton School Lounge starting at 11. You can use the parking lot entrance.

One again this includes all the age groups from Rally Cap 4-5 all the way up to 14 to 15 year olds.

Please bring registration fee cash or cheque. Post dated volunteer/jersey deposit for $150.00 dated June 30th 2022 and $50.00 for 50/50.

The season will start in May.

Registration continues for the Phantom Lake Soccer Club who will be kicking off their season in May.

On-line registration will continue til April the 25th on their website at phantomlakesoccer.com

You can register for all the age groups including U-5, U-7, and U-9 to U-19

Once you register you will need one volunteer cheque for $100.00 dated for Oct 1-2022 and one jersey deposit cheque for $100.00 post dated for July 1, 2022.

You can contact Angie Raddysh at registrarplsc@gmail.com to arrange a drop off of your fees or you can go to the Sportex on Saturday April the 23rd between 10 and 2.

If the player being registered is in Division U-11 to U-19 and is interested in playing for a travel team please indicate on your registration sheet.

The Flin Flon Bombers have punched their ticket to the Canalta Cup Final against the Estevan Bruins after  a 1-0 win in Humboldt last night.

Jacob Vockler scored his 5th of the playoffs 14:16 into the opening period on the Power Play and it held up as the game winner.

Cole Vardy shot the puck from the corner and it hit Vockler's leg and went in the net fooling Rayce Ramsay. This was Vockler's fourth game winner of the post season and the  biggest goal of his career.

Both goalies were steller and stole the show once again.

Cal Schell performed an absolute  master piece which saw him stop all 37 shots and he picked up his second shut out of the playoffs.

Schell only gave up 6 goals in the 5 games and put up numbers out of this world with a 1.15 GAA and a .966 Save %. Ramsay was also very good and only gave up 10 goals in the 5 games and kept his team in every game.

I also have to give credit to the Bombers defense who did an outstanding job keeping the top Bronco offensive players at bay and not allowing them to get a lot of room.

Last night in particular, the Bombers did a really good job keeping everyone to the outside and Cal Schell was able to see every shot.

Flin Flon wins the best of seven  4 games to 1 and after dropping the first two games in North Battleford have rattled off 8 wins in their last 9 games.

The team is playing with lots of confidence and are getting contributions from everyone.

This is the Bombers third trip to the finals in the last 5 years that we have had games and first trip since 2017. We all remember the loaded team they had in 2020 when the season ended abruptly due to Covid 19.

They feel they are a team of destiny.

The league final will feature two teams with the richest traditions that have a history that dates back to the WCHL in the 60's and 70's.

Estevan is the number one seed that had 91 points this year and are also the hosts of the 2022 Centennial Cup. That means the Bombers will alo punch their ticket to the National Championship with the Bruins being the host team.

Both these clubs are searching for their first Championship since the 90's with Flin Flon last winning in 92-93 with their epic win over Melville.

The Bruins last Championsip came in 99 with a win over Humboldt.

The Canalta Cup Final will begin one week from this Friday April the 22nd in Estevan and the Centennial Cup will start on May the 20th.

Don't forget to follow all the Bomber playoff action on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com courtesy of Creighton Furniture.

The Humboldt Bronco's managed to stave off elimination with a hard fought 3 to 2 OT win at the Whitney Forum on Saturday.

The Flin Flon Bombers had taken a commanding 3-0 series lead thanks to a 1-0 win on home ice on Friday.

Matt Raymond had the only goal when he deposited a beautiful feed from Jacob Vockler late in the first period to the delight of a packed Whitney Forum once again.

Both goalies were fantastik with Cal Schell making 33 saves for his first ever SJHL playoff shut out. Rayce Ramsay stopped 39 out of 40 and was the Broncos best player.

Saturday, with their backs against the wall Humboldt played their best game of the series and scored the first goal of the game for the first time in the four games.

Lucas Ceccarelli deflected a shot from the blue line for his third of the post season to open the scoring in the first. Matthew Perkins finally scored his first of the playoffs,  when he jumped on a loose puck in front of the Bomber net to make it 2-0 early in the second.

Flin Flon was able to shake off a rough start and got back into the game when " MR SPRING" Drew Kuzma banked a shot in past Rayce Ramsay from behind the net.

This was Kuzma's 6th of the playoffs and he leads the team in goals in the post season.

It looked like Humboldt was going to be able to hang on for the 2 to 1win but with only 5 seconds left in regulation, Xavier Lapointe was able to find Jaeden Mercier alone in front of the net.

Lapointe was flying through the Broncos zone and managed to get all 5 broncos to follow him to the right corner,  when he was able to slide the puck out front to a wide open Mercier.

Mercier scored his second of the playoffs and I thought the roof was going to come off with the massive celebration with  horns and sirens blaring all over the place. 

So we would get OT for the second time in the series, but with a different result this time.

It didn't take long for the Broncos to win it as their captain Kade Olson grabbed a Bomber turn over and raced across the line firing a shot top corner to beat Cal Schell.

I give Humboldt credit who found a way to get it done with their best effort of the series that resulted with  the 3 to 2 OT win. The Bombers are still in good shape with a 3 to 1 series lead.

The two teams will once again switch venues as game 5 will make it's way to the Elgar Petersen Arena in Humboldt  Tuesday night.

Join us for all the action once again with Creighton Furniture Flin Flon Bomber Playoff Hockey including the Great North GM Coach's Show at 8:10 and drop of the puck 8:30 MB time.

The City of Flin Flon is partnering with Flin Flon Minor Hockey and will be hosting a 3 on 3 hockey event over the course of the next two weeks.

This will involve  local minor hockey players from U7 to U18. All players will be grouped according to age and games will run Tuesday and Wednesday between 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

They  would like to encourage everyone to come to the Whitey Forum and check out all the  local up and coming hockey players from Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach.

Congratulations to Flin Flon's Hunter Lee for getting a nomination for the Uof S Male Athlete Of The Year.

The awards were presented live for the first time since 2019 last night at TCU Place.

Hunter was nominated for the E.Kent Philips Trophy for Male Athlete Of The Year.

Hunter Lee of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies wrestling program wrapped up his year in style this past weekend at the U SPORTS National Championships.

The third-year from Flin Flon, Man. won gold in the men’s 90 kilogram weight class, and he did so in spectacular fashion. Lee won all four matches he competed in over the weekend, surrendering points in just one of those bouts and claiming the title by an 11-0 margin over Karan Dhillon of Fraser Valley in the championship match. With the national title, Lee completed a campaign that saw him win both Canada West and U SPORTS gold. 

Lee’s gold medal played a large part in the Huskies finishing second in the nation, their best result since 2005

Flin Flon Creighton Minor Ball will be holding registration for the up coming season on Wednesday April the 13th 6 to 8pm.

It will take place at the Creighton School Lounge. (Use parking lot entrance.)

The divisions will include Rally Cap JR-  4-5 years old

Rally Cap- 6-8

11 under- 9-11

13 and under- 12-13

15 and under- 14-15

Please bring registration fee cash or cheque. Post dated volunteer/jersey deposit for $150.00 dated June 30th 2022 and $50.00 for 50/50.

The season will start in May.

The Flinty Ice Fishing Derby wrapped up this past Sunday with 478 fish caught and released over the entire tournament.

The Flin Flon Rotary Club changed the format and it was an online derby that featured anglers from all three Prairie provinces.

Warm sunny days brought anglers out in full force over the last 3 days and there was fierce competition on the leader boards.

Here are the winners in the various categories:

Largest Burbot - 90 fish submitted- Chantelle McDermott - Denare Beach

Largest Northern Pike- 177 fish submitted- Devin Salisbury - The Pas

Largest Lake Trout- 71 fish submitted- Trevor Athmer - Watson Sask

Largest Pickerel- 140 fish submitted- Rob Galbraith- Creighton Sask

All the profits from this event will go towards the Flin Flon Aqua Center Construction Project. A big thank you to all 54 sponsors who made this event possible.

For a full run down on all the winners and photos go to the Flinty Ice Fishing Derby facebook page.

The first annual Brutus Cup took place at the GLMC in OCN this past weekend.

This is a 21 and under tournament for Junior prospects to showcase their skills for Junior B teams across the province.

The PBCN Selects Prospects team finished third out of the 8 teams with a recod of 3-2. They lost both their games to the Prince Albert Knights.

Their three wins came against the OCN Wild 7-0, the OCN Storm 6 to 3 and Cross Lake 9 to 2.

Brady Krentz was the top scorer with 18 goals and 6 assists for 24 points.

Flin Flon's Carson Ledoux had 14 points while Nolan Rideout had 11.

Theron Danielson from Cranberry won the tournament's Most Sportsmanlike.

The Flin Flon Bombers are playing some great hockey and did the unthinkable on the weekend by going into Humboldt and winning both games to jump out 2-0 in the Semi-Finals.

Drew Kuzma "MR Spring" , scored the OT winner 9:15 into the extra period when he took his big frame and skated over the Humboldt line to fire a puck past Rayce Ramsay glove side.

This was Kuzma's second of the night and third of the series as he continues to shine in the post season helping the Maroon and White to the 3 to 2 OT win.

Kuzma now leads the team with 5 markers in the playoffs, one more than Gabriel Shipper, Jacob Vockler and Brett Wieschorster.

The other Bomber goal came from Zac Smith who buried his second when he was left alone in front of the Humboldt net.

Jeremy Orchard and Connor McGrath scored for the Broncos. In my opinion Orchard has been the best Humboldt forward and gives the Bombers trouble every time he is on the ice.

Cal Schell was brilliant and made 35 out of 37 saves and was awarded the second star of the night. Schell loves playing in  the Elgar Petersen Arena and made 36 saves the night before and has now won 6 straight playoff games.

You could see him start to get his confidence back in game number 4 of the Battleford series and has been rock solid since.

Rayce Ramsay has also been solid but the Bombers are making the most of their opportunities including their power play.

Flin Flon is 3 for 8 in the series and it was a power play goal from Jaeden Mercier that stood up as the game winner on Friday. The Bombers won 3 to 1.

The Bomber nation was once again front and centre and there must of been at least 200 Bomber fans in attendance. A lot of Bronco fans were telling me thay have never seen anything like it and they were just as loud as the more than 1000 Bronco fans.

We are so spoiled to get that great support year after year.

Flin Flon has put them selves in a great position coming home for games 3 and 4 at the Whitney Forum this Friday and Saturday with a 2-0 series lead.

We are expecting a mad house and if the first round was any indication get ready for a loud ruckus atmosphere second to none.

I know a number of former Bomber players are planning on being in attendance to give their support to this current crew who are becoming quite an inspiration.

Don't forget to tune in to all the Bomber magic with Creighton Furniture Flin Flon Bomber Playoff Hockey and  the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:10 both Friday and Saturday.

We will continue to broadcast every Bomber playoff game on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com.