Before we look ahead to Round 2 of the SIJHL Playoffs here is everything you may have missed from the Bombers 1st round series.
Game 1 Sioux Lookout 7 Fort Frances 3
Jonah Smith had two goals and an assist, and Nolan Palmer and Cedrik Robidoux had two goals each to power the Bombers to a 7-3 game-one victory over Fort Frances at the Hangar. Sioux Lookout’s special teams scored four on the power play and two shorthanded.
Palmer scored his two in the first period for a 2-0 Sioux Lookout lead. Smith, Owen Cotter and Robidoux scored for the Bombers in period two. Brody Lindal got the Lakers on the board at 8:52.
Up 5-1 entering the third, Noah McPherson made is 5-2, Smith made it 6-2, Evan Kabel for Fort Frances narrowed the lead to 6-3, and Robidoux got his second of the game to close out the scoring.
The Lakers outshot the Bombers 43-34. Fort Frances was 1-8 with the man advantage.
Jack Osmond picked up the win, making 40 saves. Jack Orchard took the loss in the Lakers’ net stopping 27.
A total of 104 penalty minutes were whistled, with the Lakers taking 76 of them, many of them in a fractious third frame that saw Ian Snooks take three misconducts.
A crowd of 453 attended.
Game 2 Sioux Lookout 9 Fort Frances 0
Sioux Lookout opened up the bomb bay doors, dropping a 9-0 decision on the Lakers before 545 at the Hangar to take a 2-0 series lead. Owen Riffel had two goals and an assist, Jonah Smith and Blake Burke had two goals each and Nolan Palmer led all producers with four points, including one goal.
Jack Osmond stopped 27 shots for the shutout. Jack Orchard had a tough night in the Laker cage, making 18 saves.
The Bombers led 4-0 after one period, 8-0 after two. Palmer scored on a third period powerplay to round out the scoring. Cedrik Robidoux had a goal and assist, and Dale Horseman and Ty Lone had two helpers each. Owen Cotter added a solo tally.
Smith’s two goals give him four in two games to lead all playoff scorers.
The Lakers were nailed for 30 of the 44 penalty minutes called by referees Steve Anderson and Mike Esposito. The Bombers were 3-8 on the power play while killing off Fort Frances’ four chances.
Games three and four are scheduled for Fort Frances Tuesday and Wednesday.
Game 3 Sioux Lookout 3 Fort Frances 0
Jack Osmond posted a 33-save shutout as the Sioux Lookout Bombers defeated Fort Frances 3-0 to take a three-nothing lead in their quarterfinal series.
Former Laker Trever Sanderson opened the scoring late in the first period, wristing a glove-side shot past Jack Orchard for his first of the playoffs on a Bomber powerplay. Kaden Veller collected the lone helper.
Sioux Lookout doubled their lead in the second. Owen Riffel got his 3rd of the playoffs on Orchard’s doorstep at 18:32 on assists from Connor Burke and Jonah Smith.
In the third frame, Owen Cotter’s wrister from the right dot at 4:08 ended the scoring. Josh Greene, another former Laker, assisted on that goal.
The game ended with Fort Frances killing off a double minor with 3:48 left to go.
Orchard made 35 saves for Fort Frances.
After two quiet periods, two incidents in the third period inflated the penalty totals. Sioux Lookout ended up with three minors and a 10 minute misconduct, and the Lakers had a 10 and six minors to go with it.
A total of 415 fans attended. Game four goes Friday at 7:15 p.m. at Ice for Kids Arena.
Game 4 Sioux Lookout 4 Fort Frances 1
Kaden Veller had two goals and one assist and Jack Osmond stopped 33 of 34 as the Bombers defeated Fort Frances 4-1 to take the series in four straight. Osmond picked up his 4th playoff win. His goals against is 1.00, with a save percentage of .968. The Bombers bring their signature stingy defence to their semi-final round against the Thunder Bay North Stars, who swept Wisconsin earlier in the evening.
Veller got his first of the game and of the playoffs, skating past a pair of Laker defenders and scoring unassisted at 4:59 of the first for a 1-0 Sioux Lookout lead. Kyle Garland tied it 22 seconds later, beating Osmond with a point shot for his first goal of the postseason.
The Burke boys both connected in the second stanza as the Bombers increased their lead to 3-1. Blake deflected Veller’s point shot home at 2:24, and Connor’s backhander eluded Fort Frances’ Jack Orchard at 5:02.
Veller completed the victory with a snipe bar down at 5:37 of the third.
Sioux Lookout was 0-5 with an extra man, while Fort Frances was 0-4. The Lakers took 26 of the 40 penalty minutes assessed.
Blake Burke added an assist for a two-point night for Sioux Lookout. Orchard stopped 26 of 30 for the Lakers. Attendance was 415.