The first four months of the 2016-17 SJHL season have certainly been productive for the Flin Flon Bombers.
At the league’s Christmas break, the club has posted a 21-10-2-2 record. That places the Bombers third in the SJHL and on top of the Sherwood Division – six points ahead of Nipawin (17-10-2-1).
Head coach Mike Reagan said that there haven’t been too many surprises this season.
“I expected for us to be in the mix this year and we are right now,” he said. “I like our schedule in the second half.”
The Bombers’ next game is in La Ronge on Friday. On Saturday, New Year’s Eve, the two teams will meet again, this time at the Whitney Forum. The Bombers will look to continue the strong play they exhibited in November and most of December.
“I’ve probably been most pleased with the way we have played the last two months and especially at home with our record,” Reagan said of the season so far. “The Whitney has to be a tough place for teams to come in to play.”
The Forum faithful have helped the Bombers go 13-1-2-2 on home ice this season. In November and December, Flin Flon won 13 of their 17 games. In each month the team had a six-game winning streak.
While pleased, Reagan noted there is room for improvement.
“After the break, we have to tighten up in a few areas and be more consistent on back-to-back nights,” he said. “I’d like to see us move pucks quicker and limit our penalties.”
Last season the Bombers went 34-20-0-4 and posted the league’s best record from Dec. 1 through the end of the regular season. In the playoffs, Flin Flon made it all the way to the Canalta Cup finals, where it lost 4-2 to the defending champs from Melfort.
That postseason success has paid dividends this season, according to Bombers captain Braden Lacoursiere.
“The playoff run showed us how hard we have to play to get to that point and how it can be exhausting, but you just have to fight through that mental state,” he said. “It also gave a lot of guys more experience so coming into this season we have a large veteran group and lots of leadership on the team.”
With only five 20-year-olds aging out of the junior ranks, Flin Flon returned much of its core. That familiarity has helped.
“I’ve enjoyed the compete level of this group and how tight of a group we are,” Lacoursiere said. “Everyone’s close to one another and it translates onto the ice.”
The 20-year-olds who moved on after last season were certainly key players for the Bombers.
Alex Smith was the SJHL Player of the Year. Smith and fellow 20-year-olds Brandon Switzer and Joel Kocur were the Bombers’ top three scorers and formed arguably the league’s top line.
Tyson Empey was sixth on the team in scoring and led as a captain and four-year stalwart. Pierre-Luc Morin was an important steady player on the
blue line.
Before this season, Reagan said that every year, a team loses its best players and has an opportunity for other guys to become the best players. This has certainly occurred with the Bombers; 10 players have already equalled or surpassed the points total they posted last season.
For example, after posting 26 points last season, Greyson Reitmeier leads the Bombers with 45 and is third in the league. The past couple of months he has formed a dangerous combination with Jason Lavallee, who is tied for second on the team with 38 points and leads it with 17 goals. Rylee Zimmer also has 38 points and has posted 13 of those in December.
These are just a few statistical examples of the Bombers veteran forwards stepping up. On the blue line, all returning players are ahead of last year’s points total. Young players like Thomas and Ben Lanfermann have taken on increased roles on defence.
The play of Thomas and forward Brandon Lesko gave them the opportunity to successfully earn spots on Team Canada West for the World Junior A Challenge. The duo, along with Reagan, who was an assistant coach on the team, helped the squad to a fifth-place finish at the international event in Bonnyville, Alta., earlier this month.
In net, Zac Robidoux and Brenden Newton have provided quality goaltending. Robidoux is 11-4-0-2 on the season with a 2.18 goals against average. Newton has gone 9-6-2-0 with a 3.48 GAA. Newcomer Gunnar Nielsen has seen action in two games.
To last year’s group, Reagan added some junior hockey veterans and rookies. Dondre Watson of Calgary is one of the incoming vets who have helped. Acquired before the season, he was a key part of the Bombers winning five of their first seven games. He had nine goals in seven games.
Rookies have also contributed to the Bombers. For example, Nate Hooper has seen time skating with Reitmeier and Lavallee. He has 13 points on the season with seven coming in November before an injury kept him out of the lineup early this month.
During the season, Reagan has made a few tweaks to the roster. The biggest of course was the acquisition of the 2016 SJHL Defenceman of the Year in Eric Sinclair. The former two-time
Canalta Cup champ with the Mustangs has had an immediate impact. He has 19 points in 21 games with the Bombers.
In the new year, Reagan and his staff will have to decide if they want to make any other changes before the Jan. 10 trade deadline.
“We have had a few good additions which has provided us with a much deeper team,” Reagan said. “I think for Jan. 10 I’d like to see us add to that depth with another forward, possibly two. I like the guys that we have now but if we can add, we will.”
