The La Ronge Ice Wolves dropped their home opener Saturday night at the Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre, falling 5-1 to the Flin Flon Bombers in the back half of a weekend home-and-home series.
After a setback in Flin Flon the night before, the Wolves were looking to rebound in front of a home crowd. The Bombers, however, struck early as Ryder Mucha scored just over a minute into the first period. Despite being outshot 23-5 in the opening frame, goaltender Riley Zezel was sharp, keeping La Ronge within one.
The Bombers’ depth showed in the second period as they scored three times to build a 4-0 lead heading into the third.
La Ronge got the crowd back into it early in the final frame when Ryder McAslan buried his first of the season off a setup from Dayton Tailfeathers. That would be as close as the Wolves would get, as Flin Flon added a late power play marker to make it a 5-1 final.
Zezel was outstanding despite the scoreline, stopping 49 of 54 shots as the Bombers peppered the Wolves net. At the other end, Devin Peck made 18 saves for Flin Flon. Special teams were a factor, as La Ronge went 0-for-3 on the power play while the Bombers finished 1-for-5.
The matchup turned physical in the third period with some fights and game misconducts handed out as emotions carried over from Friday night’s meeting in Flin Flon.
La Ronge (0-2-0) will look to reset after a tough opening weekend, while Flin Flon (2-0-0) continues their strong start.
