The Best-of-7 Quarterfinal series between the Estevan Bruins and Flin Flon Bombers is now a Best-of-3 series.
Home ice continues to serve as a true advantage between the two teams as the Bruins held serve in Game 4 with their first complete game of the series, a 3-0 shutout victory at Affinity Place.
Coming off a thrilling come-from-behind 4-3 overtime win in Game 3, the Bruins we’re looking to build on that momentum in Game 4 and came out of the gates flying in the opening period.
After the two teams traded chances early on, the Bruins scored the opening goal for the second night in a row. At 13:08, Gabriel Filion pressured the Bombers defender into a turnover to Garett Zasitko. Zasitko passed the puck to Evan Forrest who fired home his 1st of the playoffs to make it 1-0.
Then on the powerplay at 16:53, the Bruins worked it around the zone when the puck eventually found Aleksa Babic at the point. Babic’s shot deflected off Sal Collora and directly to Jag Phangura who beat Flin Flon’s Harmon Laser-Hume to make it 2-0. Phangura has now scored in 3 straight games.
The Bombers would come out with a strong response in the 2nd period with long stretches in the offensive zone generating chances, but Cam Hrdlicka and the Bruins defence were there to keep the high-danger chances to a minimum. Neither team could score in the 2nd period with Flin Flon holding a slight 23-19 edge in shots.
The tight checking continued in the 3rd period with both teams earning chances to score the all-important next goal, but both goaltenders held the fort. The Bombers would get two late powerplay opportunities to try and close the gap, but the Bruins penalty kill was strong and Hrdlicka was there to stop any shots that got through.
Flin Flon pulled the goalie for an extra attacker for a 6-on-4 powerplay with just over a minute remaining, but after Babic fired the puck around the boards, Keagon Little stripped the Bombers’ defenceman of the puck and raced in on a breakaway, sealing the game with an empty net goal at 19:03 to round out the scoring in a 3-0 victory.
Cam Hrdlicka (35/35) posted his first career playoff shutout, his 6th shutout of the season, and 11th career SJHL shutout in the win. Harmon Laser-Hume (25/27) was tagged with the loss for Flin Flon.
The Bruins won the special teams battle in Game 4, going (1/5) on the powerplay and getting another shorthanded goal thanks to Little’s empty netter. Flin Flon went (0/5) on the man advantage.
The series now shifts back up north to Flin Flon for Game 5 on Friday at 6:30 SK time. Game 6 in Estevan is also now assured, and will be played at 7pm on Sunday, March 26th at Affinity Place. CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS
