After running the gambit against the Viterra Division in their first three games, the Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings traveled to Warman for their first game of the SJHL Showcase against the Flin Flon Bombers Monday night. While the Red Wings were the better team for a majority of the game, a trail to the penalty box would see the Red Wings lose 4-1.
The trail saw its first footsteps when Jackson Hassman would go to the box a minute into the game for holding, and once that penalty was killed Eduard Wruck would go to the box for a hooking call behind the net.
The Red Wings killed off that penalty too, and even get two powerplays of their own, but the Bombers would take over halfway through the period and outshoot the Red Wings 16-5 through the second period.
It wouldn’t be until the final minute of the period where the Bombers would score with just 11 seconds left when Joey Lies came down the left side of the ice on a 2-on-1 and sent the shot off the inside pad, popping the rebound into the slot for Liam Bridger to tap into the open net.
After 1: Red Wings 0 – 1 Bombers, shots 16-8 Bombers
In the second period, the Red Wings were gifted with a full two minutes of powerplay to give them some momentum back thanks to a roughing call on Liam Bridger at the end of the period, and the Red Wings would stop Flin Flon from registering a shot for the first five minutes.
Ethan Whillans would go to the box shortly afterward, but another big penalty kill would get the Red Wings back their momentum, but they still could not solve Harmon Laser-Hume in net. After another penalty to Riley See for charging on a massive hit, the Red Wings would see their luck turn worse when Mathieu Gautier was called for kneeing when he leaned over and caught his glove on Matt Egan’s knee, and Gautier was given a five minute major and ejected from the game with 33 seconds left in the period.
With just four seconds left in the period, the Bombers powerplay would finally crack the ice when Jaedon Mercier would pick the puck up off the wall, send it to Reece Richmond at the top of the blue line, and he’d set up a sharp angle onetimer from the left side of the net that would extend the Bombers lead once more.
After 2: Red Wings 0 – 3 Bombers, shots 16 - 8 Red Wings in the period, 24-21 Bombers overall
With 4:33 left in the Gautier major to kill at the start of the period, the Red Wings were in deep heading into the third. Despite giving up shots early, the Red Wings managed some shots of their own and killed off the penalty fairly easily.
When it ended, Mi-Kwan Tallman skated through the middle of the ice to chase down a puck and was hauled down along the way, earning his teammates a powerplay. With the man advantage, the Red Wings got on the board when Jakob Kalin fired a slap shot passed the goalie to bring the game back to within two.
From there, the Red Wings were all over the Bombers even after trading penalties, and the Bombers started to shell up defensively in the dying minutes. In the final three minutes, the Red Wings were having trouble getting the puck past the Bombers’ blue line until just two minutes left. With the goalie pulled however, a shot into the skates of Alexi Sylvestre would see Sylvestre break free to ice the game with the empty netter.
FINAL: Red Wings 1- 4, shots 11-10 Bombers in the period, 35-33 overall
The Red Wings play next against the Battlefords North Stars.
With files from Nick Nielsen