The Keystone Junior B Hockey League final is set as the 6 time defending champion Peguis Juniors will face off against the PBCN Selects.

The Juniors are coming off a hard fought 5 game series win against Cross Lake which included a wild 7 to 6 win in game 5.

PBCN will play in their very first KJHL final after sweeping the NCN Flames in their opening series.

The two teams split the 6 games head to head in the regular season with the home team winning every game.

Both teams have qualified for the Central Canada Cup which will take place at the Whitney Forum April the 17th to the 21st with the Selects being the host team.

The league final will start tomorrow and here is the complete schedule.

The Flin Flon Bombers pulled out a hard fought 2 to 1 win last night in Kindersley and were able to  sweep their  SJHL Quarter Final 4 games to none.

It was fitting to see Matt Egan score the game winning goal when he streaked down the right side of the ice and fired a snap shot past John Macpherson just over 7 minutes into the third period.

Egan has gone through all kinds of adversity the last couple of years and it is the heart and soul guys that quite often make a difference come playoff time.

It was great to see Egan score the series clinching goal as he was mobbed by his team mates as they hung on to win the game.

Bomber captain Justin Lies scored the other goal which came late in the second period when he took a nice pass from Carter Anderson back of the Kippers net.

Flin Flon took a 2 to 0 lead into the final 3 minutes of the game  and Kindersley finally beat Harmon Laser Hume when one of the Perlinger twins , Cam was able to re-direct a puck in front of a big crowd in front of the net.

This was actually a short handed goal as the Klippers did a great job pinning the Bombers in their own end despite being a man down.

Once the Klippers killed the penalty they got the goalie out for the extra attacker,  but couldn't put another puck past Harmon Laser Hume who was outstanding in the series especially last night.

Harmon only gave up three goals in the four games and stopped 34 out of 35 shots and was the  big difference in the outcome last night.

There were lots of factors in the way Flin Flon dominted the series including 5 on 5 where the Bombers didn't surrender a single goal in out scoring Kindersley 19 to 3.

The Klippers scored two on the powerplay and one short handed marker last night.

Flin Flon's big guns also showed up with Alexi Sylvestre, Carter Anderson, Justin Lies and Noah Houle all picking up 7 points a piece. They also got secondary scoring with Koen Senft and Connor Ryan both picking up their first ever SJHL playoff goal.

The Bombers will now get a much earned weekend off and wait to see who they play in the next round. Flin Flon will get the highest seed that is left with the Bruins, Wings , Stars, Mustangs and roncos all still alive.

The defending league champion Battleford Stars ended their opening round series last night with a four game sweep of Melville.

The future looks bright for Kindersley who  were able to get back in the post season for the first time in 5 years and Head Coach Clayton Jardine has his team moving in the right direction.

Flin Flon will open up the SJHL Semi Final at home on Friday April the 5th against an opponent yet to be determined. Don't forget you can catch all the Bomber playoff games on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com.

Basketball ID camps will continue for girls to earn a spot for Team North for the Manitoba Summer games.

The next camp is set to go in Cranbery at Frontier  Collegiate on March the 29th 6 to 9pm and March the 30th 11am to 1pm.

Final tryout is in Cranberry at Frontier  Collegiate April the 6th,  12 to 3pm and 5 to 8pm.

This is open to any girls born in 2007 and after. Don't forget to bring a piece of id and your own ball if you can. Also try to be there 30 minutes before to register.

For more information you can email Nolen at nolen.jacobson@fsdnet.ca or catkinson@creightonschool.com.

The summer games will take place in Dauphin August the 11th to the 17th.

The Flin Flon Bombers looked like the team that was number one in the country for much of the season,  as they took it to the Kindersley Klippers this past weekend to open up their  SJHL Quarter Final series.

After a sluggish opening period to open things up on Friday,  it was complete domination by the home squad the rest of the way and they took both  games handilly 4 to 0 on Friday and a convincing 8 to 0 win on Saturday.

There were some concerns about Flin Flon's offensive production down the final stretch of the regular season, but they had no trouble finding the back of the net to start the post season.

There is just something magical about the Bombers at this time of  the year and the guys Flin Flon needs to score did just that. Alexi Sylvestre and Jacob Vockler did a lot of the damage scoring 7 of the team's 12 goals to open the series.

Sylvestre had a hat-trick on Saturday with all his goals coming in the first period. Vockler opened up the scoring just three minutes into game one and added a pair on Saturday.

Justin Lies, Carter Anderson, Kylynn Olafson, Keefe Gruner and Anthony Bax also found the back of the net to put the Bombers in a nice position heading to Kindersley.

The SJHL Goalie Of The Year, Harmon Laser Hume continued his great play in the playoffs  stopping all 58 shots fired in his direction for back to back shutouts.

Specialty teams are always big in the playoffs and they were certainly a factor in games one and two of this series. Kindersley couldn't generate anything what so ever on the powerplay,  and were a combined 0 for 8 in the two games. The Bombers mean while went 4 for 8.

Flin Flon had the best powerplay and penalty kill in the regular season and took over right where they left off to start the post season.

Flin Flon fought hard for home ice advantage all season and it has paid off with a two games to none lead and the pressure on the Klippers who don't have much more room for error.

Saying that,  all teams are better at home and Kindersley was a much better home team than road team this season. The Klippers were 16-8-4 at home and just 7-18-1-2 on the road.

We all know how good the Bombers are at the Whitney Forum at 24-2-1-1 but they  also had the best road record at 20-7-1. This is also a very veteran team that have won a lot of big games the last few seasons and have lots of playoff experience.

Kindersley hasn't been in the post season in 5 years and will have to dig real deep to try and get even, but anything is possible in the SJHL.

A jam packed West Central Events Centre is expected for Tuesday and Wednesday as Kindersley is jacked to be back in the post season. You will be able to catch both games on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com with the Great North GM Coach's Show both nights at 8:10 Manitoba time.

The SJHL Playoffs will kick off on all four fronts tonight,  including the Flin Flon Bombers getting set to host the Kindersley Klippers in game one at the Whitney Forum.

Hard to believe with how long these two teams have been in the league, but this will be their first ever post season meeting tonight.

Both teams limped into the post season going 4-5-1 in their last ten games. This is very concerning for the Bombers who only lost 9 games in regulation all year, but 5 of those losses came in the last three weeks of the season.

Flin Flon is having trouble scoring 5 on 5 right now but the team is happy to wrap up the regular season and feel they are ready for the challenge of the post season. Despite their finish,  this is a team that put together the best record in the league at 44-9-2-1 and were ranked the top team in the country for much of the year.

They are struggling offensively but with their potent line-up could break out at any point with the likes of Justin Lies, Jacob Vockler, Alexi Sylvestre, Noah Houle and Carter Anderson all finishing in the top 12 of league scoring.

Another big factor may not be so much the Bombers offensive woes of late, but this is still a very good team defensively who gave up a league best 129 goals against which ended up being 77 better then their first round opponent. Harmon Laser Hume was a big reason for that and was just awarded  the SJHL Goalie Of The Year.

Laser Hume won 28  games this year to go along with a save % of .930 which were both near the top of the league.

Defense has also been a big part of the Bombers success in the playoffs the last few years and has allowed them to get into the league final, 4 of the last 6 years.

Head Coach and GM, Mike Reagan who was selected the SJHL Coach Of The Year for the first time in his career feels their depth will be a big difference in this series. 

" We do, we really believe in our depth, the trade deadline we wanted to make sure if we had any injuries that we had that depth,  and we would be comfortable with anyone who was in the lineup. It maybe hasn't gones as smooth as we wanted it to, but overall it has been a good year. We know our depth will pay off for us at some point in the playoffs and we have two guys that are injured right now that won't be available for us. Already having that depth has become important for us and it is going to become even more important as the playoffs go on."

Kindersley will get back in the post season for the first time in 5 years with Clayton Jardine who was actually the Head Coach the last time they made the playoffs which was an early exit to Melfort that year.

The Klippers grabbed the 8th and final seed, but I think this series may be a lot tighter than people think and let's face it all the pressure is on the Bombers. No matter what happen's this should be some very valuable experience for Kindersley who try to re-establish their program and become a top 4 team again.

Their top line is as good as anybody's featuring the trio of captain Logan Linklater, Tylin Hilbig and Brock Evans. Cody Jaman is more than capable between the pipes and loked very good against the Bombers late in the season in Kindersley.

Jaman finished the year at 13-15-4 and had a decent save %at .903.

This will also be a big series for former Bomber Brock Mueller who was traded to Kindersley the January 10th  trade deadline. Mueller wanted to finish his career as a Bomber and had a big impact when he faced his former team a few weeks ago.

The season series did go 3-1 in Flin Flon's favour with the Bombers out scoring the Klippers 18 to 9 in those four games, but we know the playoffs is an entirely different season.

I agree with Coach Reagan, I think depth will be a big part of this series as we know things always tighten up and it could be tough sledding for the good offensive players on both teams.

Both teams are also really good at home with Flin Flon's regular season home record at 24-2-1 and  the Klippers no slouch at 16-8-4. If Kindersley can steal one of the first two at the Forum, we may be in for a long series.

No matter what go's down, you will have the best seat in the house as every single Flin Flon Bomber game will be broadcast on 102.9 CFAR nd flinflononline.com including tonight with the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:10.

Hockey Manitoba has selected  their short  list of officials who will officiate the Central Canada Cup in Flin Flon at the Whitney Forum April the 17th  to the 21st. 

They have shortlisted to 7 officials and 7 linesmen including some referee's and linesmen from Northern Manitoba.

Brett McNabb from Cranberry and Nick Szubinio from Norway House have made the short list for referee's.

Four Linesmen have made the list from Northern Manitoba including Flin Flon's Brad Fox, Conner Cordell from Norway House, Nick Rusak from Cranberry and Mthew Steeves from Thompson.

This year's Central Canada Cup will host teams from the KJHL, LJHL, PJHL, NEAJBHL and the host PBCN Selects.

Congratulations to Flin Flon Bomber bench boss Mike Reagan on being selected Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association Coach Of The Year.

Reagan has been behind the Bomber bench for the last 17 seasons and has never missed the post season,  and is the first Bomber coach to win Coach Of The Year since their re-entry into the SJHL in 1984.

He has also guided his team into the league final 4 of the last 6 years. He became the winningest coach in team history with 525 career coaching victories.

This past season was one of the best in team  history,  as Reagan was able to tie a franchise record for wins in a season with 44 and led the Bombers to a first place finsh at 44-9-2-1. They were also ranked the number one team in the country for much of the CJHL season.

Other Bomber Award winners included:

Noah Houle- Super U Defenseman Of The Year-  Houle led all defensemen in the league with 68 points and was also able to land a Division one commitment to Lindenwood University. Houle put up 12 goals and 56 assists in 52 games.

Harmon Laser Hume captured the Sasktel Goaltender Of The Year, and was one of the stingiest and most  consistant goalies in the league. In 38 games, Laser Hume put up a 28-6-1-1 record with 3 shut-outs and a league best .930 save %.

Fifteen 2013 born players from  northern communities are set to join forces and compete in two spring hockey tournaments this season.

The Junior Northstars head to Portage La Prairie March 29-31st to compete in the Portage Cup. The team will play two round robin games and then the top 8 teams will move on to the playoff round.

They will face off against the Central Plains Red Wings and Southwest Razorbacks during round robin play. The team will also compete in the Brandon AAA Challenge April 25-28.

Details for that  tournament will be announced at a  later date.

The roster for the 2013 Junior Northstars includes Eli Chrisp, Brody Cooper, Quinn Trubiak, Aiyden Kemp and Luke Kowbel from Flin Flon. Parker Tritthart, Burke Lehmann, Landon Colgan and Billy Melnyk from Thr Pas. Brock Andres, Blake Harding, Xavier Lavoie, Jake Cameron and Kane Davis from Thompson and Sebastian Siksik from Rankin Inlet.

This is the second season the team has been together and look to build on last spring's  experience.

The Flin Flon Bombers will face the Kindersley Klippers in the first round of the playoffs which will start this Friday at the Whitney Forum. This will be the first meeting ever in the post season between these two teams.

The Bombers won the season series 3-1 and despite going 4-5-1 in their last 10 still finished first overall at 44-9-2-1which gives them the top seed and home ice throughout the entire playoffs.

Kindersley are back in the post season for the first time in 5 years and took the 8th seed with a record of  23-26-5-2.

Here are the dates for the opening round of the playoffs:

The Phantom Lake Soccer Club will kick off their season with their indoor tournament at the Creighton Sportex May the 3rd to the 5th.

This is for youth born between 2010 and 2015.

You can register in person at the Creighton Recreation office 8 to 5 Monday through Friday. Registration forms are available at the Creighton Rec Office or Town Of Creighton Office.

Registration deadline is April the 22nd.

All games will be played at the Sportex with indoor shoes, socks and shin guards required.

For more information call Lindsay at 306-688-3538 or e-mail creightonrecreation@sasktel.net.

The Senior Hapnot Queens were one of 8 high School basketball teams that had a chance to bring home a Provincial basketball title on the weekend.

The Queens made their way to Somerset and were ranked 7th.

Hapnot lost a nail biter  against the 2nd ranked Souris Sabres in their opening game 49 to 47 which dropped them to the Consolation Semi's.

The Queens responded with a comeback win over Gabrielle Roy 58 to 53 and got to the Consolation Final.

Unfortunately the Queens ran out of gas and lost to Rosenort 66 to 46. It was the end to a very good season and the Queens wrap up the season and weekend 5th in the province.

The Keystone Junior Hockey League is excited to announce Ethan Fechter of the PBCN Selects as the Top Goaltender for the 2023-2024 season.

Ethan backstopped his team to a successful second place finish this season. He led the team defensively putting up a .924 save percentage with a 2.49 goals against average. He also had one shutout on the year.

Congratulations Ethan and good luck the rest of the season.

Mean While, the PBCN Selects have taken a 2 games to none lead over the NCN Flames in their KJHL Semi- Final  after wins of 6 to 1 and 5 to 3 on the weekend in the best of 5.

The Selects could close out the series in Nelson House on Saturday at 7:30. If necessary game four would go Sunday in Nelson House also at 7:30.

It was a great weekend at the Uptown Curling Club as the 95th annual Men's and Ladies Bonspiels took place and wrapped up this afternoon. There were 10 Ladies rinks and 8 for the Men.

Among the highlights was Tom Kozar picking up a 7 ender in the regulation round against the Rigulta rink.

The Trevor Watt rink won the A-side for the second straight year beating Dave Blatherwick 6 to 5 in an exciting final.

Ross Shellenberg took the B-side 9 to 8 against Ron Burwash and Don Holmes won the C-side 7 to 3 over Tom Kozar.

On the Ladies side,  Kyla Reierson won the A-side with a 6 to 0 win over Sue Chrisp. Laurie Salahub won the B-side with a hard fought 11 to 10 win against Patty Evans. Dianne Burwash took  the C-event 9 to 2 over Terry Kennedy.

A big thanks to all the curlers, volunteers and spectators for coming out for the festivities this past weekend.

The SJHL regular season wrapped up this weekend and the Flin Flon Bombers dropped both their games in Humboldt to a red hot Bronco team.

The Bronco's wrapped up the season 7 and 3 and were able to grab third spot overall with a  6 to 2 win  on Friday and a 4 to 1 win last night.

Flin Flon, who have had first overall wrapped up for some time limp into the post season at 4-5-1 in their last ten games. What makes this concerning is that they only lost 9 games in regulation all year but 5 of those losses came in the last three weeks.

For what ever reason,  the team is really struggling to score, especially 5 on 5 and could only muster three goals on the weekend with just one of those goals at even strength.

Gerome Gilbert was the only player to score an even strength goal,  and it was actually a fluky goal when he flipped a puck towards the Humboldt net and caught Benjamin Motew napping as the puck beat him low glove side.

I think Gilbert was the most surprised person in the building as he was headed off the ice for a line change and just simply flipped the puck on net.

Alexi Sylvestre and Anthony Piccininno were the only two other Bombers to hit the back of the net on the weekend as they both scored on the powerplay. Despite the Bombers offensive woes, Sylvestre continues to produce and has points in the last ten games.

There were also a number of defensive breakdowns which will have to be  addressed heading into the post season. They will be a quick exit if they continue to turn over the puck  like they have the last few weeks.

Mike Reagan was on the CFAR Post Game Show last night and says he has complete faith in his team that they will be able to bounce back when the playoffs start Friday.

Like Mike mentioned,  they still had one of the best seasons in franchise history and finish the year at 44-9-2-1 and have earned the number one seed and home ice throughout the playoffs.

Flin Flon will face the Kindersley Klippers in the playoffs for the first time ever and will kick off  the best of 7 opening round series this Friday and Saturday at the Whitney Forum.

The Klippers are back in the playoffs for the first time in 5 years and were also 4-5-1 in their last ten to finish 8th and earn a chance to face the Bombers. They lost their two final games to Battleford this weekend and blew a 2-0 lead last night losing 3 to 2.

The season series was 3-1 in Flin Flon's favour and they split the last two meetings in Kindersley,  just a few weeks back on February the 23rd and 24th.  

Once again every single Flin Flon Bomber playoff game will be broadcast on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com including the opening two games this weekend.

The Senior Hapnot Queens will represent the North at Senior Basketball  Provincials starting tomorrow in Somerset.

The top 8 teams in the province will be taking part including Hapnot, Rosenort, William Morton, Immanuel Christian, Gabrielle Roy, Warren, Souris and the host team from Somerset.

The Queens will play the Souris Sabres in their first game at 4:15 on Thursday. Round robin will continue through Friday with the playoffs on Saturday.

The Consolation Final will go Saturday at 10, followed by the third place game at noon and the A-Side Final at 2.

Congratulations to long time Flin Flon Ski Club member Dennis Whitbread on being named the Saskatchewan Cross Country Volunteer Of The Year.

Dennis has been with the Flin Flon Ski Club for a number of years in lots of capacities including overseeing the chalet and ski rental program.

Dennis was also inducted into  the Flin Flon Ski Club's Honorary Hall Of fame last year for his countless years of volunteering.

Once again congratulations and well deserved  as Dennis received his award from  another long time member Dave Price. 

The Flin Flon Bombers want you to come to their office tomorrow between 6 and 7 to learn how to purchase reserved seating and tickets online for the playoffs.

Reserved seating will only be done online and all other ticket purchases will be rush.

The Bombers want to help,  and show you the steps to be able to go through this process. Once again that is 6-7 tomorrow night at the office at 35 Main street.

Playoffs will begin in Flin Flon the weekend of March the 22nd and 23rd as the Bombers are guaranteed home ice advantage after finishing first in the regular season.

Their first round opponent is yet to be determined.

The U-13 Kinsmen Bombers wrapped up the hockey season at Provincials in The Pas.

The Bombers dropped their two round robin games to Notre Dame 12 to 2 and Mitchell 8 to 1.

They rebounded with a 14 to 2 win over Peguis which got them to the Consolation Final.

The Bombers squared off against the host team from the  Pas and ended up losing 6 to 2.

Just one more order of business for FF Minor Hockey and that will be the gala celebration March the 20th that is open to all FFMH players, coach's and officials.

More details to come.

The JV Hapnot Queens wrapped up their season in style this past weekend at Basketball Provincials at Springs Christian Academy.

The Queens started off with a convincing win over the host team 67 to 23 before losing a tight game to the second ranked Souris Sabres in overtime 57 to 52.

That knocked them down to the B bracket where they met Ellie and beat them 56 to 53. That put them in the Consolation Final and the Queens prevailed over a very good team from Immanuel Christian 39 to 15.

The JV Queens finish the season third overall in the entire province.

The Senior Varsity Queens will wrap up the basketball season at Senior Provincials in Somerset this weekend.

The Flin Flon Bombers played one of their best games in the last few weeks as they went into Nipawin today and doubled the Hawks 6 to 3.

This was a huge win for the club who were under .500 in their last 10 games, as their win this afternoon has tied a franchise record for wins in a season with 44.

The last time the Bombers picked up 44 wins in  a season was the year they hosted the RBC, the National Championship in 2001. That year they played 64 games, this year's team has achieved it in 54 with two more games to go.

Justin Lies led the way this afternoon with a pair of goals and has hit 41 on the season. His brother Joey found the back of the net for the third time in the last 4 games with Keefe Gruener, Noah Houle and Kylynn Olafson rounding out the scoring.

Harmon Laser Hume was back between the pipes and beat his former team for the fourth time this year and picked up 26 saves for his 27th win  of the season.

Mark Lafleur, Artem Hrabovetskyi and Evan Forest scored the goals for the Hawks with stand out goalie Damon Cunningham stopping 40 out of 45, but was hung out to dry many times through out the afternoon. 

It was a good weekend for Flin Flon who held off Laronge 6 to 4 on Friday and managed to score 12 goals on the weekend after only finding the net 13 times in the previous 5 games.

The wins and goals couldn't of come at a better time with the playoffs set to start in less than two weeks.

The Bombers will close out the regular season in Humboldt next weekend with a chance to set the all time wins mark for their franchise on Friday and Saturday.

It won't be easy as the Bronco's have been one of the best teams the last month or so and are 7-3 in  their last 10 and sit fourth overall, just one point  behind Battleford with three more games to go in their season.

The Stars only have two more games to go.

You will be able to listen to both games from Humboldt on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com beginning with the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:45 Manitoba time both nights.

Good luck to the U-13 Kinsmen Bombers who are in the Pas for Provincials this weekend at the Roy H Johnson Arena.

9 teams from all over will be taking part including the Bombers, The Pas, Boissevain, Dauphin, Mitchell, Notre Dame, Peguis, Rivers and Stony Mountain.

Flin Flon is in a pool with Mitchell and Notre Dame.

The Bombers play Notre Dame at noon today and Mitchell tomorrow at 10:30.

Playoffs will start Saturday at 2:15 with the B Final Sunday at 2:45 and the Gold Medal game at 4:45.

The PBCN Selects wrapped up the regular season on Tuesday and held their awards banquet last night at the Chicken Chef.

Among the highlights was special guest speaker Rich Pilon who played 15 years in the NHL between 1988 and 1999, mostly with the New York Islanders. He told some great stories from his playing days and was very inspirational.

The big winner last night was Embry Roberts who received three awards including PBCN Player Of The Year, 2024 Fan Favorite and the 2024 Top Scorer with 50 points.

Local product Paxton Moore received two awards including Rookie Of The Year and Scholastic Player Of The Year.

Other award winners included

Coach's Choice Award- Ray Putlat JR

Players Choice- Owen Angootealuk

MVP- Harlan Jacobson

J Kolbey Morin Memorial for Top Defenseman- Israel Maktar

The Selects will now gear up for the KJHL playoffs and since they finished second overall, they receive a first round bye and will host games one and two of the second round at the Whitney Forum March the 15th and 16th.

The Flin Flon Bombers offensive struggles continued last night in Melfort as the Bombers dropped their 4th in their last 6 games , 3 to 1 to the Mustangs.

Despite a decent start, Flin Flon fell behind early in the second period on a pair of goals from a couple of Mustang elite scorers  in Clay Sleeva and Ryan Duguay.

Alexi Sylvestre breathed some life into his team when he scored a nice wrap around goal on James Venne late in the second period for his 30th of the season.

Despite a lot of the other Bomber top point getters not producing lately, Sylvestre continues to play well and has scored 7 goals in his last 7 games.

Flin Flon came out and looked poised to tie the game in the third period but couldn't beat James Venne and the post and couldn't get any closer.

Sylvestre got a clear cut breakaway but was denied by the bar when he beat Venne five hole, but the puck deflected off the post and  stayed out.

Logan Belton took advantage of a trip that wasn't called on Jacob Vockler and raced down the ice to beat Harmon Laser Hume with a big insurance goal which made it 3 to 1 and seeled the game for the Mustangs.

Melfort is red hot and picked up theit 7th straight win and continue to hold down second overall at 36-14-3, 4 points up on Battleford and 5 up on Humboldt.

Special teams were a big part of the outcome last night as the high flying Bomber powerplay went 0 for 6 while the Mustangs were 1 for 6 and that was the game winning goal.

The Bombers late season slide continues and are 4-5-1 in their last 10 and are really struggling to score. Justin Lies and Carter Anderson have combined for just three  goals  in their  last 7 games.

Flin Flon has four games remaining and will try to get it in gear for their final regular season  home game which is against Laronge tomorrow. Laronge has been eliminated from the post season and these two teams haven't played since December the 16th.

It will be interesting to see if Coach Reagan sits some of his regulars to give them a rest or if he play's everybody hoping they can light a spark. No broadcast on radio, our next broadcast will be the final two games in Humboldt next weekend the 15th and 16th.

The PBCN Selects wrapped up their regular season in style with a 7 to 4 win over the OCN Storm at the Whitney Forum last night.

Owen Angooteaulk and Kobe Tanuyak led the way with a pair of goals. It was Tanuyaks 26th and 27th of the season. Cranberry's Harlan Jacobson had a shorthanded goal with Pavlo Kobikov and Kaden Eetuk rounding out the scoring.

Ethan Fechter was sharp stopping 42 out of 46 shots for his 11th win of the season.

PBCN will wrap up the regular season at 26-10 and finish second overall which will allow them a first round bye for the playoffs.

The Selects will hold their Awards Banquet tonight at the Chicken Chef and are excited to welcome 15 year NHL veteran Rich Pilon who will be the special guest speaker. Tickets available at the Candy Bar for $30.00.

Doors open at 6:30, dinner and awards at 7.

The Hapnot JV Queens are off to Springs Christian Academy for JV Basketball Provincials starting on Thursday.

The Hapnot Queens are ranked number 7 in the province and will open up against the host team Springs Christian which are ranked number 10, Thursday morning at 9.

If the Queens win that game they would move on to play the second ranked team in the province, the Souris Sabres.

Round robin will continue Thursday and Friday with the Consolation Final on Saturday at 10 followed by the third place game at noon and the final at 2.

Results can be seen at https://www.mhsaa.ca/tournaments/view/7612/provincial-a-aa-jv-girls-basketball-championship.

The PBCN Selects will host the OCN Storm tonight at the Whitney Forum as they get set to wrap up the KJHL regular season.

Tonight's outcome will have no bareing on the standings as the Selects will finish second overall no matter what with a record of 25-10.

It is a big game for the Storm who still have two games remaining and if they could win them both would still have an outside chance of finishing fourth.

OCN sits fifth right now at 18-14-0-2 and are just one point up on Norway House, who only have one game remaining. So a Storm win tonight guarantees them fifth.

The Selects will be wearing pink jersies tonight in honor of National Pink Shirt day which took plase on February the 28th to celebrate National Anti Bullying Day. This is the Selects first chance to wear these jersies at home.

PBCN will be hosting their year end awards banqut tomorrow night at Chicken Chef. Tickets are $30.00 and can be picked up at the Candy Bar or the game tonight. Doors open at 6:30 and the awards and dinner will start at 7.

Special guest speaker is 15 year NHL veteran Rich Pilon who spent the bulk of his career with the New York Islanders. After being drafted from the Prince Albert Raiders, Pilon went on to play 12 seasons with the Islanders between 1988 and 1999. He would play two years with the New York Rangers before retiring with the ST.Louis Blues in 2002.

The 49th annual Val and Ivor Hedman Centaloppet took place at the Flin Flon Ski Club on Sunday. 58 skiers took part ranging in ages between 6 and 76.

A big thanks go's out to all the volunteers and businesses who donated prizes and helped make this event a great success.

Here is a complete list of all the winners from Sunday.

Centaloppet Cup Winner – Corrected Time:  Michael Dumenko – age 6   

Second place – Corrected Time:  Luke Unrau – age 7  

Third Place – Corrected Time:  Oliver Mitchell – age 7

Top Finishers – Actual Time:

Senior Male (20+):  Jamie Schmidt  (9 minutes, 43 seconds) 

Senior Female (20+):  Penny Grove  (15:15) 

Junior Men (15-19):  ~~~

Junior Women (15-19):  ~~~ 

Boys (11-14):  Deakon Anaka  (8:53)  

Girls (11-14):  Charlotte Unrau  (9:42)  

Boys (under 10):  Matthew Unrau  (12:15) 

Girls (under 10):  Lucy Dumenko  (13:28)  

Youngest Skier:  Michael Dumenko  (aged 6) 

Youngest Participant:  ~~~ 

Oldest Skier:  Larry Fancy 

Largest Family:  The Unraus (x5)  

Happiest Face:  Jamie Schmidt 

Best Dressed Adults:  James & Shaylene Dumenko  

Best Dressed Junior:  Lucy Dumenko 

Most Persevering:  Jleizy Ortaliz 

Most Colourful:  Luke Unrau (pre-race)

The SJHL has announced all their award nominees for the 2023-24 season  and a number of Flin Flon Bombers are finalists for awards

Here is the complete list courtesy of sjhl.ca

SGEU Most Valuable Player

Kian Bell, Battlefords North Stars – 38GP 33G 53A 86 Points

James Venne, Melfort Mustangs – 28-10-3-0, 2.71 GAA, .909 SV%, 4SO

Spencer Bell, Humboldt Broncos – 49GP 40G 35A 75 Points

Bourgault Forward of the Year

Spencer Bell, Humboldt Broncos – 49GP 40G 35A 75 Points

Justin Lies, Flin Flon Bombers – 50GP 38G 33A 71 Points

Kian Bell, Battlefords North Stars – 38GP 33G 53A 86 Points

SuperU Defenceman of the Year

Noah Houle, Flin Flon Bombers – 47GP 11G 51A 62 Points

Alex Izyk, Battlefords North Stars – 48GP 17G 38A 55 Points

Chase Freidt-Mohr, Melfort Mustangs – 49GP 14G 37A 51 Points

SaskTel Goaltender of the Year

Dazza Mitchell, Weyburn Red Wings – 16-10-0-4, 3.36 GAA, .912 SV%, 2SO

James Venne, Melfort Mustangs – 28-10-3-0, 2.71 GAA, .909 SV%, 4SO

Harmon Laser-Hume, Flin Flon Bombers – 27-4-1-1, 2.04 GAA, .935, 3SO

DirectWest Rookie of the Year

Luc Bydal, Melville Millionaires – 46GP 19G 21A 40 Points

Carson Olsen, Battlefords North Stars – 47GP 10G 20A 52 Points

Travis Bryson, Humboldt Broncos – 46GP 21G 28A 49 Points

Star Egg Most SportsmanLike Player

Mason Bueckert, La Ronge Ice Wolves – 52GP 20G 40A 60 Points, 10 PIMs

Jadon Iyogun, Melville Millionaires – 43GP 20G 17A 37 Points, 8 PIMs

Evan Forrest, Nipawin Hawks – 51GP 15G 23A 38 Points, 6 PIMs

Zac Somers, Melfort Mustangs – 33GP 18G 26A 44 Points, 32 PIMs

Ben Portner, Battlefords North Stars – 46GP 26G 39A 40 Points

Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association Coach of the Year

Clayton Jardine, Kindersley Klippers

Mike Reagan, Flin Flon Bombers

Doug Johnson, Melville Millionaires

Canterra Seeds Saskatchewan Player of the Year

Spencer Bell, Humboldt Broncos – 49GP 40G 35A 75 Points

Logan Linklater, Kindersley Klippers – 49GP 16G 40A 56 Points

Mathew Van Blaricom, Humboldt Broncos – 41GP 24G 36A 60 Points

RBC Community Player of the Year

Jacob Cossette, La Ronge Ice Wolves – 52GP 14G 18A 32 Points

Keagon Little, Estevan Bruins – 49GP 12G 50A 62 Points

Joey Lies, Flin Flon Bombers – 37GP 4G 12A 16 Points

Leith Olafson, Melfort Mustangs – 49GP 40G 35A 75 Points

The winners will be announced March 18, 2024 on the regular season-ending episode of SJHL Weekly.

The U-11 Peds Threads Bombers were in Grand Plains for Provincials this past weekend.

Things started well with the Bombers tieing St Claude at 2 and then they  beat Grand Plains 8 to 7.

Flin Flon went on to lose their final round robin game 4 to 2 to Labroquerie to finish the round robin at 1-1-1.

That put them in the semi's against Virdon where they lost 7 to 3. They would play Swan River for Bronze and lost a nail biter 3 to 2 to finish fourth.

It was a great season and the kids played hard all year and ended up fourth in the province.

Congratulations to the Senior Hapnot Queens on winning the Zone Basketball championship on the weekend in OCN.

The Queens went undefeated with round robin wins over MBCI, Cranberry, OCN and Norway House.

That would put them in the final against MBCI, who they beat in a close game 50 to 45. This is the third straight Senior Basketball Zone for the Girls.

The Queens are off to represent the North in Provincials in Somerset the weekend of March the 14th and 16th.

The Senior Kings hosted Zones and they went 1-1 in the round robin beating Norway House and losing to the Pas. They would end up losing in the semi-final to the Pas in a heartbreaker 70 to 68. Frontier out of Cranberry went on to win the boy's zone handilly beating the Pas 103 to 68.

Cranberry will represent the boy's at Provincials on March the 14th to the 16th in Russell.

The Flin Flon Bombers played their final homestand of the SJHL regular season and were able to take 3 out of a possible 4 points against the Estevan Bruins this past weekend.

This has become one of the league's best rivalries and it looks like they could be on a collision course to meet in the playoffs for the third straight year.

Friday, the Bruins were able to take the game 4 to 3 in a shoot-out.  Fans got their money's worth as the Bombers tied it with only 4 seconds left on the clock.

The amazing Alexi Sylvestre was able to re-direct a Noah Houle shot from the blue line to tie the game and get it to extra time. Over time settled nothing despite a lot of great chances both ways three on three.

It came down to the shoot out and Felix Allard ended it for the Bruins in the fourth  round when he fired a snap shot past Laser Hume low glove side.

A big two points for the Bruins who were able to officially  clinch a playoff spot with the win.

The two teams would square off again on Saturday in what would turn out to be another tight spirited affair. The Bomber powerplay clicked early when Carter Anderson streaked down his off wing a flipped a puck over Jackson Miller to pick up his league leading 22nd powerplay goal and 36th overall.

The game went back and forth and was tied at 2 after 2 with Alexi Sylvestre scoring a beautiful shorthanded with  Carsyn Dyck and Zach Burns replying  for the Bruins. Sylvestre's shorthanded goal was the Bombers 16th of the year for the Bombers as a group.

Local product Joey Lies was able to find the back of the net for the second straight night in what turned out to be the game winner. Lies took a great pass from Jerome Gilbert from behind the net and fired a shot through a maze in front of the Estevan net for his biggest goal of the season.

Estevan would pull the goalie and had extreme pressure in the Bombers end in the dieing seconds and did find the back of the net just after the horn sounded. The Bruins thought the goal should of counted and several of their players went at the referees in one of the wildest finish's I have witnessed in some time.

Several misconducts were given out and it will interesting to see if the Bruins suffer any suspensions by the league who are reviewing the game tape.

After it was all said and done the Bombers improve to 42-6-2-1 and 87 points. The Bruins sit in 8th at 24-24-2-2 but could still finish in 6th as they are one point back of Kindersley and tied with Weyburn.

Weyburn would be the team in the drivers seat with 6 games remaining, while the Bruins have 4 and Kindersley only 2. It looks like it will go right down to the wire.

Just 5 games left for the Bombers as they travel to the Northern Lights Palace in Melfort this Wednesday to take on a red hot Mustangs team. The Mustangs are 7-3 in their last 10 and sit second overall.

The Mustangs will be thinking redemption as the Bombers shut them out the last time they were there. You can catch all the action on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com with the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:10.

A town hall was held last Saturday regarding whether or not the Norman Northstars would be staying in Thompson this coming hockey season.

A vote by the Triple A U-18 Manitoba Hockey League was held on Wednesday night, with the result that the Northstars will remain here.

Mayor Colleen Smook says there’s still more work that needs to be done to ensure this continues.

“We are definitely going to be asking for changes on the executive, their annual general meeting is in April and that’s when they re-elect the board. We will be supporting other regions which have said that they will be asking for changes and will be putting names forward so that it’s more equity and representation across Manitoba, not even just necessarily the north.”

Smook said that now the Northstars will be staying, it’s up to the fans to keep supporting the team.

She said she’s hoping for great fan turnouts at all the home games.