The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The Flin Flon Bombers will have a better idea of where they stand in the playoff picture after three important games this weekend. The Bombers will play three road games, starting with the Battlefords' North Stars on Friday and Saturday, and finishing up with a game in Humboldt against the Broncos on Sunday. One area that the Bombers have been working on this week is special teams, after a bad power-play and bad penalties contributed to three losses in their last four games. "I think special teams are key at all times," said Ryan Hoffman, head coach. "Our power play has struggled lately. We spent time this week making some adjustments so we are able to adapt to what other teams throw at us a little quicker." Flin Flon's last trip to Battleford ended in a 5-2 loss on November 14. A couple of defence lapses put the Bombers down early. Battleford is big and physical team, and the Bombers can not afford to get behind against them. That was also the game that captain Conrad Wilgenbusch suffered a season ending concussion. After two games against the North Stars, playing the Broncos on Sunday might seem like a vacation. Flin Flon has played Humboldt very tough this year, losing only once, a 2-1 setback last Saturday. "Our games against Humboldt always seem to be emotion filled," said Hoffman. "We play them very well. I don't mind playing them for the third time in two weeks, because we don't seem to have any trouble getting up to play them." After this weekend, the Bombers will have 13 games left to climb into a playoff spot. Flin Flon is currently seven points behind both Nipawin in the Dodge Conference and Estevan in the Sherwood Conference. The Yorkton Terriers are currently third in the Sherwood Conference, but have struggled lately, and are currently on a four game losing streak. With three games in hand and two games against the Terriers in February, the Bombers' best chance of making the playoffs might be by knocking out Yorkton. No matter which team the Bombers plan on catching, they will have to put together a string of wins in a hurry, starting in Battleford this weekend. "Without question, we are in a do or die situation now," said Hoffman. "We've got to start making some hay. We need a couple of wins this weekend." John Iron, who has been out of the Bomber lineup with a mild sprain, will definitely return to action some time this weekend, Hoffman added. For the first time this season (knock on wood) the Bombers will have to scratch two healthy players from the lineup. Schedule change The game between the Flin Flon Bombers and Battlefords' North Stars that was to be played on November 21 in Pelican Narrows has been rescheduled for February 25 at 7:30 p.m. This change pushes the game scheduled in Flin Flon on February 25 to February 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Whitney Forum.
