courtesy of bombers.ca

The Flin Flon Bombers are asking for support from Flin Flon and the hockey community for our very own, #19 Matt Egan, who has been diagnosed with cancer. Matt has already been seeking treatment & with it being caught in its early stages, Matt is expected to make a full recovery.

Matt and the Egan family ask for privacy at this time. The team is rallying behind Matt and we are doing everything we can to support him in any way possible. We ask that you pray for Matt so he gets the right treatment & makes a safe recovery.

Matt is not only a great player on the ice but an amazing individual who has done nothing but make a positive impact on our community. We hope to see him back on the ice soon.

It has been a very good first half of the season for the Norman Northstars who roll into the Christmas break winning  5 of their last 6 games including back to back wins over the Yellowhead Chiefs.

Norman is tied for the final playoff spot with the Eastman Selects with a record of 10-12-1-0-2.

The Northstars are led offensively by Isaac Tomchak from Wanless who leads the team in scoring with 28 points in 24 games including 11 goals.

Tyler Wamboldt from Thompson leads the team with 17 goals.

There are two players on this year's squad from Flin Flon including defenseman Gage Gogal and forward Nole Pearson who were both on the team last year. They have combined for 17 points so far.

One of the big reasons for Norman's success has been the addition of 7 players from Nunavet including goalie Preston Kaludjak.

Kaludjak is 9-9-1 with a gaa of 4.29 and a save % of .881.

Norman is on their Christmas break and will be back on the ice January the 4th when they kick off a 4 day road trip against the Southwest Cougars. They will also play in Brandon January the 5th and 6th and wrap up in Yellowhead on the 7th.

The Northstars first home game of 2024 is the weekend of January the 13th and 14th when the Eastman Selects make their way to Thompson.

courtesy of mjhlhockey.ca

WINNIPEG, MB – The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is pleased to announce the 2024 MJHL-SJHL Showcase schedule along with the Coaching Staff for Team MJHL.

From January 30-31, 2024, at Seven Oaks Sportsplex in Winnipeg, MB, the joint Showcase will feature three select teams from each league made up with the top 60 players in the MJHL and in the SJHL.

The three teams representing each league will consist of players aged 16 to 20 who will be selected by the coaches from their respective leagues. One team will be comprised of players who are 18 and under and two teams will be made up of players who are 20 and under – Each team will play 2 games during the high-performance event.

Tickets will become available for purchase online starting on Monday, January 8, 2024. Walk up tickets will also be available for purchase starting at 11:00AM on January 30, 2024, at Seven Oaks Sportsplex in Winnipeg.

SCHEDULE:

TEAM MJHL COACHES:

Adult and Teen Challenge Of Canada are proud to announce the return of the Sled For Eternity Snowmobile Event.

The event is hosted in 5 different communities in Ontario and Manitoba including Flin Flon on March the 9th.

This event has raised thousands of dollars to help people fighting addictions and there are lots of great prizes available. It is also a great way to get out with friends and family for lots of fun and cool adventures.

You can register for the event by going to the teen challenge facebook page.

Congratulations to local product Joey Lies of the Flin Flon Bombers on being chosen their member for the RBC Community Ambassador Team.

Each team in the SJHL gets to nominate a player from their team who is an excellent role model in the community and a strong leader on and off the ice. Each ambassador will be recognized for making a difference by giving back to the community with a RBC game night which will be February the 16th.

That will be the night the Bombers  host the Battleford Stars and Joey will be honored by the RBC for a donation to a local school.

Make your way to Creighton school this Wednesday for some high school basketball action to head into the Christmas break.

The Red and Green Winter Classic will take place between the Senior Hapnot Kings and Senior Creighton Kodiaks at 6 followed by the Senior Queens and Kodiak Girls at 7:30.

Make sure you bring a non-perisable food item and or a cash donation for the Lord's Bounty Food Bank.

This will be a good tune up for these teams who will be getting ready for the Border Bash tournament which will take place in Creighton early in the new year.

It was a good weekend for the Peds Threads U-11 Bombers who played their last tournament of 2023 in Allan Saskatchewan.

The Bombers opened the tournament  beating  The Regina Mustangs 11 to 1 with Luke Kowbell leading the way with 3 goals and one assist.

Then they beat the Melfort Stallions 12  to 0 with Brody Cooper picking  up 2 goals and 2 assists. They lost to Kindersley 5 to 3 to finish up the round robin.

The Bombers would meet the Saskatoon Bobcats in the B-Final and ended up winning 6 to 0 to finish third overall in the tournament.

It was a great weekend for all the players and coach's who now look forward to 2024 and hosting the Jason Morran Memorial tournament the weekend of January the 5th to the 7th.

2023 has been one of the best years in Flin Flon Bomber history as the Maroon and White Express kept rolling with a two game sweep of the Laronge Ice Wolves on the weekend.

On Friday, the Bombers powered themselves to a 4 to 1 win on the strength of two Jacob Vockler goals including his second with just 6 seconds remaining in the second period. That stood up as the game winner.

Justin Lies also pocketed a pair for his league leading 25th and 26th including another short handed goal to give him a league leading 5 on the year.

Harmon Laser Hume continues to play well and made 44 saves for his 19th win of the season. Hume's numbers are staggering through the first part of the year with a league best gaa of 1.95 and save % of .935.

Topher Chirico once again kept his team in the game with a lot of top notch saves and ended up with 45 saves and was once again the Wolves best player.

Laronge drove to the net and played hard but just couldn't capitalize on their opportunities. Dylan Handel scored the lone Laronge goal on the powerplay early in the third.

It was a spirited affair on Saturday and one of the roughest games I have witnessed all season with both the players and fans whipped up in a frenzy.

Matt Egan and Max Henderson got into a scrap early in the game and that sparked an emotional night all the way around.

Flin Flon played another solid game and blanked the Wolves 4 to 0 in the final game of 2023 for both teams.

All the big gunners got involved in the scoring for this one including Justin Lies adding his 27th, Alexi Sylvestre his 19th, Carter Anderson his 24th and Anthony Piccininno his 11th.

Kenny Marquart got the start and was good when he had to be making 26 saves for his second shut out of the season.

What a way to finish 2023 for the Bombers who are the talk of the league with their 28-1-2 record. Their 61 goals against is also very impressive in 31 games so far this season.

Laronge continues to struggle and remain 5 points out of the last playoff spot. 

The CJHL rankings came out earlier today and Flin Flon will head into the Christmas break as the number one team in the country for the 8th straight week.

It was a great way to wrap up the year with a special tribute to former Bomber Gene Carr before the game who passed away on Thursday at the age of 72.

The Bombers will enjoy a 20 day break before getting back on the ice January the 5th against Nipawin then heading to Melfort the next night, January the 6th.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Flin Flon Bomber fans every where.

A great start to the high school basketball season as the Hapnot Queens won the Bill McDonald Classic in The Pas this past weekend.

The Queens went undefeated in the round robin and followed that up with a solid  playoff round beating Creighton 57 to 34 in the Semi's. In the Gold medal game the Queens battled from behind and beat RD Parker out of Thompson 40 to 34 to win the Championship.

The Kings went 2-1 in the round robin and beat ED Parker in the playoff round 65 to 57 to get to the Consolation Final.

Hapnot held off Creighton 67 to 62 to win the Consolation Final.

Both teams will be in action this Wednesday at the Kings will play the Kodiaks in Creighton  at 6pm followed by the Queens VS Kodiak girls  at 7:30 to head into the Christmas break.

The PBCN Selects did not disappoint the home crowd last night with their only home game in December.

Dion Fontaine scored the first goal of the game in his Selects debut and PBCN never looked back in the convincing 8 to 1 win over the OCN Storm.

Pavlo Kobikov originally from the Ukraine picked up four points including a pair of goals with Embry Roberts, Laryn Chaboyer, Kalin Roy and Jacey Melnyk also finding the back of the net.

Terrell Martin scored the only goal for the OCN Storm.

Ethan Fechter was good in goal again last night and ended up with 31 saves for his fourth win of the year.  The Storm went with two goalies  with Nolan Sinclair JR starting and  making 26 saves on 30 shots.  Cranberry's Logan Grenier came in relief and he  stopped  9 of 13.

With last night's win, the Selects have moved within two points of Peguis for second overall at 12-4.

These two teams will actually meet in a pair of games this weekend in Peguis with the games this Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 1:30.

After last night's loss the Storm will fall to 7-8-0-1 and have lost 6 in a row.

The Pas will be hosting the biggest high school basketball tournament in the North this weekend, the Bill McDonald Memorial Classic.

Boys and girls teams will be taking part from both Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Teams will be coming in from Flin Flon, Cranberry, Creighton, OCN, Moose Lake, Thompson, Cross Lake, Hudson Bay, Porcupine Plain and the host team.

The Hapnot Girls will play their first game on Friday at 1 VS Cranberry. The Creighton Girls will face OCN at 1 in their first game.

The Creighton Boys face Moose Lake in their first game at 1pm on Friday and the Hapnot Boys will play Porcupine Plain at 3.

Playoffs will start at 11 am on Saturday with the Boys Final at 3 and the Girls Final at 5.

You can follow all the results at mhsaa.ca

The accolades continue to come Noah Houle's way as he has been selected the SJHL SGEU MVP of the week.

Houle has been a big part of the Bombers success this season and is coming off another very good week. In three games, Houle was able to pick up 6 points including a pair of goals in the win over Weyburn on Friday.

Houle continues to be the top offensive defenseman in the league this year with 42 points including 8 goals. He is also fourth overall in league scoring, trailing team mate Justin Lies by just 6 points.

The Bombers remain a league best 26-1-2 and will be in action this weekend in a home and home against the Laronge Ice Wolves. This will be Flin Flon's last two games before the Christmas break. 

The Senior Kodiak Girls basketball team travelled down to Norquay on the weekend.

Creighton competed well for having a depleted line up with just 8 players including two grade 9's.

The Kodiaks came up just a little short losing to Kamsack 48 to 46 and led throughout much of the game but a couple of their players got fouled out.

They also lost to Melville 50 to 32 and Norquay 55 to 41.

Both Senior basketball teams will be attending the Bill McDonald Classic in the Pas this weekend and the Kodiak Girls will play their first game Friday at 1 VS OCN.

The Kodiak Boys will also play Friday at 1 against Moose Lake.

The Flin Flon Bombers continue to roll along after a weekend sweep of the Weyburn Red Wings with wins of 5 to 1 and 6 to 2 this past Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, Noah Houle led the way with a pair of goals his 6th and 7th to go along with one assist. Carter Anderson, Jacob Vockler and Ashton Paul rounded out the scoring.

Flin Flon put up a whopping 69 shots on goal and the Wings Angelo Zol made his SJHL debut and played fantastick making 64 saves.

Kenny Marquart got the call for Flin Flon and picked up his 8th win of the year making 24 saves.

On Saturday,  Flin Flon came out flying and Carter Anderson continued his dominance against Weyburn with three points in the first period.

Anderson scored a pair of goals on the powerplay and now sits second in the league with 23 goals in 20 games. Only team mate Justin Lies has scored more as he added his 24th also in the first period.

Alexi Sylveste fresh off his NCAA commitment to Bemidji scored a pair to give him 17 on the year and he  also set up Koen Seft on a two on one for a three point night.

Harmon Laser Hume picked up his league leading 18th win of the year stopping 27 shots in the process.

Flin Flon now sits at 26-1-2 and remain the number one team in the country for the seventh straight week.

The Bombers have just two games remaining before the Christmas break and 2023 as they will play a home and home with Laronge this weekend. The Wolves held the Bombers to just one goal this past Wednesday and will be tough to beat in their own building.

Friday's game is in Laronge with the return matchup in Flin Flon on Saturday. Both games will be broadcast on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com.

submitted by PBCN Selects

The PBCN Selects are rounding out their roster preparing for a playoff run and a shot at the Central Canadian Championship in April.

They are excited to announce the signing of 21 year old Forward Dion Fontaine. Fontaine a left winger is 5’9, 190 lbs and has 2 league Championships under his belt. He has played 55 games in the KJHL scoring 89 career points.

Fontaine the Grandson of former OCN Blizzard GM, the late Derek Fontaine and son of former Junior A standout Mike Young comes to the Selects with a strong pedigree. Playing AAA Midget with the Winnipeg Hawks and 3 seasons in the KJHL, the Selects look at Fontaine to provide leadership and secondary scoring for this season’s team.

“Dion is a kid I’ve know since birth, as a hockey player he has a good IQ and good hands, this is his opportunity to be the first player in the last 10 years to win multiple league titles on different teams in the KJHL.” -Gatlin Church

Fontaine is expected to be in the lineup Wednesday when the Selects face-off against one of his former teams the OCN Storm.

Game time 7:30 at the Whitney Forum Wednesday Dec 13th

The high school basketball season is underway and the Senior Creighton Kodiak girls are off to Norquay.

The Kodiaks got a tune up game this past Tuesday against Cranberry and won that game handilly  38 to 6.

The Kodiaks will be one of four teams competing  including the host team, Kamsack and Melville.

Creighton's first game is tonight at 7 against Melville. They will play Kamsack Saturday at 1:30 and Norquay at 4:30.

There will also be a buckets for brain cancer fundraiser and the Kodiaks will be donating to the cause with money they collected at the school.

courtesy of bombers.ca

The Flin Flon Bombers would like to congratulate ’04 Forward, Alexi Sylvestre on his commitment to further his academic and hockey career at Bemidji State University (NCAA).

The Bemidji State Beavers are a NCAA Division 1 school in Bemidji, Minnesota and they compete in the CCHA Conference. This season, the Beavers currently have a 5-9-0 record.

From Ste-Martine, Quebec, Sylvestre joined the Bombers at the beginning of last season and has been a great addition to the organization since then. Last season, Sylvestre put up 21 goals and 20 assists for 41 points in 57 games, along with adding 9 goals and 6 assists during the playoffs. This season, Sylvestre is currently 3rd in league scoring with 16 goals and 24 assists and continues to pile on the points. Standing at 6’2, he has been a vital part to the Bombers success, helping them get to 1st place in the SJHL and CJHL this season with his great IQ, skating, and shooting ability. The Bombers wish Sylvestre the best of luck and know he will be a great addition to the Bemidji State roster, not only as a great player but as an outstanding individual.

“We are very happy for Alexi, his hard work paid off. Bemidji is getting not only a great player but a person too.” – Mike Reagan, Head Coach/GM

Justin Lies scored his league leading 23rd of the season and Harmon Laser Hume stopped  all 31 shots he faced as the Flin Flon Bombers knocked off the Laronge Ice Wolves last night 1 to 0.

Lies was able to grab a rebound in front of the Ice Wolf net and beat Topher Chirico for the only goal of the game while the Bombers were short handed.

This was Lies's fourth short handed goal of the year and he leads the league in that category too.

Topher Chirico was the story for Laronge and did everything he could to keep his team in the game making 52 saves, many from point blank range.

Without him it should of been like a 6 or 7 nothing game as he was nothing short of brilliant.

Isaac Deveau made his Bomber debut and he was staedy and should be a physical prescence on the Bomber blue line.

Despite the one goal, it was a very entertaining game last night as there was lots of flow and good chances both ways as the two goalies stole the show.

It was another big win for Flin Flon who improve to a league best 24-1-2 and are the first team in the league to hit 50 points. Laronge will fall to 8-18-2-1 and remain 5 points out of the last playoff spot.

Neither Carter Anderson or Adam McNutt played last night but are expected back in the lineup this weekend against Weyburn.

The Red Wings will be in Flin Flon Friday and Saturday and are 3-6-1 in their last 10 after a 6 to 1 loss last night in Nipawin.

You can catch Saturday's game right here on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com with the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:10 and drop of the puck at 7:30.

The SJHL announced their player awards from this past week and to no one's surprise, once again a Flin Flon Bomber has been recognized for his fine play.

The SJHL Borgault Forward Of The Week is Carter Anderson who had a week to remember. Anderson scored 7 goals in the three games including 4 in the win against Yorkton on Friday night.

Anderson has been on a tremendous roll since arriving from the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL in early October and has scored 20 goals and added 10 assists in just 18 games.

Anderson continues to be a threat every time he is on the ice and is one of the top  power forwards in the league.

I had a chance to catch up with one time Flin Flon Bomber, Kim Clackson who suited up for the Bombers for just one season in 1973-74.

He also went on to a lucrative professional career which spanned 6 years mostly with the Winnipeg Jets of the WHA.

Clackson was part of a couple of Avco Cup Championship teams and was regarded as one of the toughest players of his era in both junior and the pro's.

Kim remembers his time fondly in Northern Manitoba and share's  some great stories and highlights from his career.

If you missed the interview during our Bomber broadcast last weekend , you can hear it here:  https://flinflononline.linkedupradio.com/podcasts/nor-man-sportsline

Flin Flon Minor Hockey will be hosting a skill development night tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Whitney Forum starting at 6:45.

This is open to all players and goalies U-11 to U-18 who are registered in the FFMH system.

If you are interested you can register at technicaldirector@gmail.com.

The Flin Flon Bombers had another good weekend picking up another pair of victories against the Yorkton Terriers and Humboldt Broncos.

Friday,  Carter Anderson had a night to remember picking up 5 points including 4 goals to go along with one assist.

Anthony Piccininno scored a pair with singles coming from Alexi Sylvestre and Justin Lies who potted his league leading 22nd.

Kenny Marquart stopped 28  shots for his 7th win of the year as the Bombers doubled the Terriers 8 to 4.

After a slow start on Saturday, which saw Humboldt go up 2-0 on a pair of goals from Patrick Lanthier, Flin Flon was able to reel off 6 straight goals for the 6 to 2 win.

Carter Anderson had another good night  adding two more goals to hit 20 on the season with other goals from Noah Houle, Anthony Piccininno and a pair from Alexi Sylvestre who now has 15 on the season.

Harmon Laser Hume was back between the pipes and earned his league leading 16th win with a 41 save performance.

The Bomber powerplay was on fire and went a combined 6 for 15 in the two games and remains a league best 29 %.

Flin Flon improves to 23-1-2 and remain the number one team in the country. The CJHL rankings came out earlier today and Flin Flon is ranked number one for the 6th straight week.

A busy week coming up as the Bombers will play three games including a trip to Laronge on Wednesday and will host Weyburn in a pair of games this weekend.

102.9 CFAR and flin flononline.com will broadcast Wednesday's and Saturday's games this week.

12 rinks from right across Manitoba competed in the Golden Gals Provincial curling play-downs in Virden once again this past weekend.

Flin Flon was represented by two rinks including the defending champions Lorna Rice who got an automatic entry ,  which allowed Flin Flon to send an additional team  the Debbie McNeill rink.

Rice went 2-1 in the round robin before losing to the eventual champion Lori Pellisier out of East ST Paul in the playoff round.

McNeill went 0-3 and did not qualify for the playoff round.

The Lorna Rice rink once again included Denise Davis, Edna Smith and Dela Chilson.

The Debbie McNeil rink included Sandra Chatfield, Yvonne Davis and Shirley Miller.

The volleyball season has come to an end for the Senior Hapnot Kings and Queens who were representing the Northern region at Provincials.

The Queens were in Lac Du Bonnet and went 2-2 in the round robin with wins over Elie and Rosenort. They lost to Major Pratt and Gabrielle Roy.

They came second in their pool and lost to Warren in the playoff round 13 to 25 and 22 to 25. Gabrielle Roy went on to beat Warren in the final.

The Kings were in Gabrielle roy and they went 1-3 in the round robin with their one win against Carberry. They lost to Mac Gregor, Gabrielle Roy and Rosenort.

The Kings finished fourth in their pool and lost to Major Pratt in the playoff round 20 to 25 and 18 to 25.

Gabrielle Roy beat Major Pratt in the final.

The Mel Pearson Novice hockey tournament took place at both the Sportex and Whitney Forum this past weekend.

12 teams from Manitoba and Saskatchewan took part and there was lots of good hockey played and the kids had fun.

Here are the final results:

Mel Pearson Final- Thompson Blues beat Laronge 8 to 5.

Jack Turner Event- Swan Valley Colts over Thompson Red 9 to 6

Scott Davidson Event- McKeens beat The Pas Black 3 to 2 in an exciting game in OT.

Paddy Ginnell Event- Thompson Green beat the Flin Flon Rhinos 8 to 3.

Cementation Event- Pas Red 8,  Flin Flon Firemen 3

Shayne Pearson Event- Steelworkers 15, Snow Lake 1.

A big thanks to all the volunteers , coach's, players and parents for coming out to support Flin Flon Minor Hockey's first tournament of the year.

The Golden Gals Provincial Curling Championship is underway in Virdon featuring 12 rinks from right across Manitoba.

Two rinks are from Flin Flon including the defending champs, the Lorna Rice rink and the Debbie McNeill rink.

The Rice rink is off to a good start beating the Deprez team from Stonewall 7 to 6 in their opening game.

The McNeill rink lost their first game to Fedak out of Dauphin.

Both teams will play their next game in the 3pm draw today. Rice  is taking on Haas from Sprigfield and McNeill will play the Newton rink from Shoal Lake.