HUMBOLDT — It was an overtime heart-breaker for the Humboldt Broncos as they faced the Flin Flon Bombers in the second game of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League semifinals.
On April 2, the Bombers defeated the Broncos in the Elgar Petersen Arena 3-2.
"It's definitely not time to panic yet," said Rhett Blackmur, the Broncos' assistant coach. "It's a seven-game series, we're only down two."
Jerzy Orchard of the Broncos was the first to get a goal in the first period. Then Drew Kuzma of the Bombers took advantage of a power play to even the score.
There was no goals in the second period.
Flin Flon's Zak Smith then got a goal at the start of the third period. The Broncos' Connor McGrath then scored to even the game.
Kuzma then snuck a puck past Broncos goalie Rayce Ramsay to win the game.
The Bombers' defence provided little opportunities for the Broncos to score. As soon as a Bronco was in a shooting position, a Bomber would be right there to prevent it from getting close to the net.
"You got to find a way," Blackmur said when asked how the Broncos should deal with that in the future. "Find a way to get inside. They like to tie up sticks. [We need to] free up our sticks, get to the second chances."
Ramsay of the Broncos stopped 41 out of 44 shots, while Cal Schell of the Bombers stopped 35 out of 37.
The next game will be in Flin Flon on Friday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m.
"I think the biggest key when you play up in Flin Flon is you got to block out all the noise," said Carter Hansen, the Broncos' other assistant coach. "They got great fans up there. They're loud as loud as can be. Got to shut the noise out and just play the game of hockey. At the end of the day, you're playing a game. If the boys focus on that, playing their game, playing their style, I think we'll be okay."
