REGINA, SK – Both higher seeds had to rally, but both higher seeds found a way in Game 1 Thursday.
Justin Lies struck twice through Logan Cunningham’s five-hole on the power play, once at the 15:10-mark of the second period and once just over five minutes into the third, and the Flin Flon Bombers hung on to a 4-3 victory at the Whitney Forum.
Cunningham shone in the Battlefords net, where he made a 2024 playoff-high 55 stops in defeat. Ben Portner also starred on the Stars’ side, as his two power-play goals four-and-a-half minutes apart gave the defending champions the lead in the middle frame.
Meanwhile at the Northern Lights Palace, the Melfort Mustangs parlayed an opportunistic two-goal effort from Ryan Duguay and a brilliant 33-save performance from James Venne in goal into a 4-2 Game 1 win. Chase Friedt-Mohr and Aidyn Hutchinson also added multi-point efforts as the Mustangs remained perfect at home in the 2024 post-season so far.
The 2024 SJHL Playoffs presented by UPL at a glance
Flin Flon – Battlefords: Bombers lead series 1-0
Melfort – Humboldt: Mustangs lead series 1-0
Game 1: Flin Flon 4 Battlefords 3
Game 1: Melfort 4 Humboldt 2
The two series resume Friday night, then break for the weekend in respect for the memory of the April 6, 2018 Humboldt crash.
Friday, April 5, 2024
- Game 2: Battlefords North Stars @ Flin Flon Bombers, 7:30 P.M. CDT
- Game 2: Humboldt Broncos @ Melfort Mustangs, 7:30
