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.
It was another disappointing weekend for the Flin Flon Bombers, who came up with only a tie in two games at home against the Estevan Bruins. On Friday, the Bombers battled from behind only to give up a goal in the final minutes to lose 4-3, and a tie on Saturday salvaged what could have been a disastrous weekend. In the Bombers' last home effort, they played a complete game and handled the La Ronge Ice Wolves by a score of 4-1. A completely different team hit the ice on Friday, and the Estevan Bruins took advantage of their lackluster effort. Dylan Dufour scored at 6:41 to put the Bruins ahead early, and Lorne Tytlandsvik netted one on the power play at 10:20 to make it 2-0. Ryan Boak brought the Bombers to within one goal late in the period at 16:45, with Derek Gallagher and John Iron assisting. The Bombers were out shot 14-8 in the opening frame, but rebounded with a solid effort in the second period. Unfortunately, the Bombers got caught on a turnover that gave Dylan Dufour his second goal of the game, shorthanded at 7:49, and the Bruins held a 3-1 lead going into the dressing room after 40 minutes of play. If the Bombers have been known for anything this year, it is their comeback efforts in the third period. Craig Parks brought the Bombers within a goal at 4:43, with assists going to Kyle Holmes and Brennen Giroux, and Simon McCusker's second goal of the year at 13:02 tied the game for Flin Flon. McCusker's goal came on the power play, with Tyler Stinton and Jeff LaPointe assisting. With the game deadlocked at 3-3, the Bombers stopped playing desperate hockey and nearly shut down defensively. On at least three occasions, giveaways or missed assignments in the next three minutes gave the Bruins some excellent scoring opportunities, and Joel Pullman snapped a five-game winless streak for Estevan by beating Paul Reimer at 16:38. Reimer played an outstanding game in net for the Bombers, keeping the game close and allowing his team to comeback. The Bombers were out shot 12-8 in the third period, and 35-25 in the game, allowing one power-play goal against on six tries, and scoring twice on the power play in eight tries. Neither team came out of the gates on Saturday with much fire, and once again, the Bruins drew first blood at 6:50, as Matt Harms put the puck by Brett Koscielny, who made his first start in almost three weeks because of injury. The Bombers played one of their best second periods of the season, out shooting the Bruins 11-8 and scoring the only goal. Conrad Wilgenbusch scored his second of the season at 6:05 with Ryan Boak and John Iron assisting. With the game tied at 1-1 heading into the third period, things were looking good for the Bombers to win, as they almost always out score their opponents in the final frame. That wasn't the case on Saturday, as the Bombers completely collapsed in the third period. Goaltender Koscielny was by far the best player on the ice, and he played the puck almost as often as his defence in the first part of the period. Unfortunately, this resulted in a penalty, as Koscielny was nailed for clearing the puck over the glass and delaying the game. On the ensuing power play, Lorne Tytlandsvik gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead at 7:20. The Bombers didn't even register a shot on net in the third period until the 12:00 mark. On the Bombers' third shot of the period, Andrew Skrabek put in a rebound to score on the power play at 12:43. Conrad Wilgenbusch and Derek Gallagher assisted on the goal. In overtime, the Bombers were handed a glorious opportunity to win the game, as Lorne Tytlandsvik was penalized for high sticking at 2:46. Flin Flon couldn't score the go ahead goal, and at 4:10, the referee evened things up by calling Craig Parks for tripping. Nothing was solved in overtime, and the game ended in a 2-2 draw. For the second game in a row the Bombers were out shot by 10 goals, 37-27. Flin Flon's penalty killing continued to shine, as they allowed only one power-play goal on 11 Bruin tries. The Bombers scored two power-play goals on 10 chances. Four out of the Bombers' five goals this past weekend came on the power play. The Bombers will have to improve their play during five-on-five, and learn how to compete for 60 minutes if they want to catch the other teams in the Dodge Conference. Flin Flon is now 3-7-8-1 on the season, good for 15 points and a tie for last place in the Dodge Conference with the Melfort Mustangs. The Bombers are only 1-5-4 in their last 10 games. Amazingly enough, the Bombers are only three points out of the final playoff spot in the Dodge behind Nipawin and La Ronge, with games in hand over both teams. The Bombers will hit the road this weekend for three games. They will play the Battlefords' Stars on November 14, and meet up with the Kindersley Klippers for a pair of games on November 15 and 16. On November 21, the Bombers will play the Battlefords' Stars at a neutral site game in Pelican Narrows, and the two teams will move to Flin Flon for a game on November 22.
