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 Humboldt Broncos will be glad they don't have to visit the Whitney Forum again this year, after losing for the second time in three games against the Flin Flon Bombers, 4-3 last night. Humboldt and Flin Flon tied in their first meeting of the season, and the Bombers won the second match 6-5. It took the Bombers a little while to get going in the first period, but scoring chances by Jeff LaPointe and Mark Black rallied the team to a strong finish. Andrew Skrabek's shot rang off the post nine minutes into the game, and the momentum started to shift in favour of the Bombers. Unfortunately, at 9:34, Skrabek was nailed for a high-hit penalty, that was accompanied by a 10-minute misconduct, putting the Bombers' top offensive weapon in the penalty box for the remainder of the period. Just seconds after the minor penalty expired at 11:47, Kevin Duchaine blasted a shot that beat goaltender Troy Ciernia from the top of the slot. At 13:17 of the period, Humboldt's Blair Wourms challenged Kevin Burwell, and like so many before him, found himself looking up at big #44 by the end of the bout. The unlikely combo of Spencer Davis and Quinn McIntosh combined on the Bombers' first goal of the game. McIntosh finished off a Davis shot from the point, for the forward's first goal of the season at 15:59. Despite being out shot 21-11 in the first period, the game was tied at 1-1 after the first 20 minutes of play. Simon Nadeau restored Humboldt's lead early in the second period at 1:49, but the grinders for Flin Flon came out to play on Tuesday night, as McIntosh scored his second goal of the game at 6:55, with Craig Parks and Brennen Giroux assisting. A stupid penalty killed the momentum for the Bombers, and at 17:23, Jeff Furlong beat Ciernia on the blocker side to give Humboldt a 3-2 lead heading into the third period. Down by a goal with 20 minutes left, the Bomber veterans dug a little deeper and potted two goals for the comeback win. Jeff LaPointe shoveled a pass from Ryan Boak into the back of the net at 3:48 on a power play to tie the game, and John Iron scored the goal of the game at 13:28 to put the Bombers ahead for the first time. Iron fooled everyone, including goaltender Alex Gagnon, when he decided to keep the puck on a two-on-one rush. Craig Parks assisted for his second point of the night. Just before Iron netted the game-winner, tempers started to flair between the two benches, when Humboldt coach Bob Beatty kicked Bomber forward Mark Black, who had his arms hanging over the side of the bench. After having a goal disallowed with 5.7 seconds left (note: the puck has to cross the line before it counts), Humboldt players refused to leave the ice, and both teams lined up for some muscle flexing at centre ice. One might think that the Broncos would be in a hurry to leave, after taking only one point from Flin Flon in three games. Humboldt received a bench penalty game misconduct at the 20 minute mark of the third period, as did Broncos player Brendan Vanthuyne. Troy Ciernia played a huge roll in Flin Flon's win, their fourth of the season, stopping 47 shots, as the Bombers were out shot 50-36. The Bombers went 1/6 on the power play, while keeping Humboldt scoreless on five tries with the man advantage. The Bombers are only three points behind Nipawin and La Ronge for the final playoff spot in the Dodge Conference, and will look to gain some ground on the road this weekend. They will be in Melville on Friday night, make a stop in Yorkton on Saturday night, before concluding the trip in Nipawin on Sunday.
