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 Kinsmen Bantam 'AA' Bombers travelled to Winkler during the weekend of March 4, 5 and 6, for the Manitoba Provincial Playdowns. In the first game played on Friday, the Bombers met the Dauphin 'AA' Kings. The Bombers totally dominated their southern rivals jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the first period and 9-0 after two. Dauphin managed to get one goal in the third period, to spoil the shutout as the Bombers romped to a 13-1 win. See 'Exceptional' P.# Con't from P.# Pacing the Bomber attack was Ryan Fox who had five goals and one assist, Wesley Gawiak and Lyle Leclair who each had two goals and two assists, Tanner Korchinski with two goals and Jordan Crone and Owen Woloshyn netting one goal each. Nick Hamilton and Aaron Bauman each had three helpers and Jonathan Young had one assist. The Bombers went on to play the Portage Terriers Friday evening. In another lopsided affair the Bombers jumped out to a 4-0 first period lead and coasted to a 6-0 win. Ryan Fox had two goals for the Bombers while Corey Dupre and Owen Woloshyn each had a goal and an assist. Wesley Gawiak and Lyle Leclair each had singles. Tanner Korchinski chipped in with two assists with singles going to Landon Rowe and Jordan Crone. The win gave the Bombers the highest winning percentage in the round robin and a bye into the semi-final Sunday morning. On Sunday morning, the Bombers met the Brandon Wheat King 'AA' Bantams. This time the Bombers would have their work cut out for them. Brandon scored first with just over six minutes gone in the first period. However, Flin Flon would come back with goals late in the period by Lyle Leclair, unassisted, and Wesley Gawiak assisted by Ryan Fox and Calvin Cairns. In the second period Brandon would outscore their Flin Flon rivals three goals to one, scoring their final goal of the period with just 14 seconds left. Owen Woloshyn assisted by Wesley Gawiak got the lone Flin Flon marker. The score after two frames Brandon 4, Flin Flon 3. In the final period, the Bombers came out flying and applied all kinds of pressure in the Brandon end but had trouble scoring on the Brandon netminder. Finally, with just over five minutes left, Ryan Fox lit up the scoreboard with the tying marker on a three-way play with Wesley Gawiak and Owen Woloshyn drawing assists. Then, with only 49 seconds left in the game, Ryan Fox took a feed from Owen Woloshyn and skated down through the slot of the Brandon zone, drawing several Brandon defenders to him. Instead of attempting to score the goal, Fox made a nifty drop pass to Tanner Korchinski who was following the play. Korchinski's high blast found the back of the net and gave the Flin Flon Bombers a hard fought 5-4 win and put them into the final against the hometown Winkler Flyers. The Winkler Flyers had the second best record in the Provincial round robin tournament. They also had an envious record at various tournaments throughout the year and that, combined with lots of help from the hometown officiating, meant that the Bombers would play most of the game shorthanded and hard pressed to mount a sustained attack. While the Bombers fought hard, they had some letdowns in their end, which let their Winkler rivals jump out to a five-goal lead in the first period. The Bombers worked harder in the second period and started using the body more effectively but still could not solve the Winkler netminder. Winkler added three more goals in the second period. In the third period the Bombers introduced the Flyers to good old Whitney Forum hockey, taking the body to the southern opponents at every opportunity. This certainly had its effect as Winkler ended up with as many as four players who were not prepared to continue playing such a physical brand of hockey, and had to be helped to the bench. Nevertheless, the referees ensured that their hometown boys would skate to a 10-1 win and win the Provincial championship. The Flin Flon Kinsmen Bantam 'AA' Bombers certainly have nothing to be ashamed of in what turned out to be an exceptional season for them. The boys won all four 'AA' tournaments that they participated in, taking the championship in Melville, The Pas, Dauphin and Saskatoon where they took on teams from Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. To their credit, the boys stayed focused all season and worked hard at practices as well as made a committed effort to dry land training to stay in shape (a factor which led them to win many a game). Parents and fans are truly appreciative of the efforts of the boys, and would especially like to congratulate coaches Trent Boak and Lorne Hill who put together the team and distinguished themselves with the guidance and superior coaching that the boys received during the winter. Hopefully, Trent and Lorne will be back next year to guide the 2005/2006 version of the Bantam 'AA' to another successful season.
