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The Flin Flon Bomber veterans didn't fare any better than the rookies did against OCN, as the Blizzard pounded the Bombers 12-6 on Wednesday night at the Whitney Forum. If you take away OCN's 12 goals, it wasn't such a bad game. The Blizzard started the game with a five-on-three power play, which the Bombers killed off like a well oiled machine. Shortly after, OCN's Tyler Ryhorchuk slashed Flin Flon netminder Paul Reimer, and Kevin Burwell answered the call, taking him down at 4:08 of the first period. This set the tone for the rest of the game. Both teams did a lot of muscle flexing in the first period, and a total of 70 minutes in penalties were handed out. The Bombers scored first, as Stewart Sjoberg scored at 6:31, with Derek Blais and Conrad Wilgenbusch assisting. Paul Wallman tied the game for OCN with a nifty move to get by the defence and put the puck over Paul Reimer at 8:53. The goal was assisted by Justin Tetrault. OCN went ahead with a power-play goal from Phil Butt at 13:57, assisted by Jared Lang and Garrett Hildebrandt. The Bombers evened things on a five-on-three chance at 15:32, working the puck around tic-tac-toe to Matt Jones, who slid the puck behind goaltender Jon Meyer. Conrad Wilgenbusch and Kurt Matthewson assisted. Just over a minute later, Derek Blais restored the lead for Flin Flon, scoring a power-play goal from Donald Milburn and Craig Parks. Milburn did most of the work in front of the net to draw both defencemen, opening the door for Blais. The lead was short-lived, as on the next play, the Bombers took a penalty. A kill would have been huge for the Bombers heading into the dressing room, but Pat Power scored for OCN at 18:18 assisted by Jared Lang. The Bombers came out flat in the second period, and OCN took advantage like the five-time MJHL champions that they are, scoring five goals to the Bombers one to take an 8-4 lead into the third period. Pat Power's slap shot beat Reimer cleanly on a power play at 0:48 to start the period. Matt Wallman and Paul Wallman assisted. Daniel Mayer scored from David Victor during a four-on-four chance at 2:52. Flin Flon got a break after killing a penalty, as Craig Parks found Tyler Stinton alone in front of the net at 6:26, and the score was 5-4. OCN took over for good after that, as Pat Power scored his third of the game at 9:15 from Matt Wallman and Everett Bear. Close to the halfway point of the game, Reimer was replaced by Brett Koscielny. It didn't take long for the Blizzard to get to him, as Aaron Starr scored an unassisted goal with a backhand at 10:33. At 13:17 of the second period, after a scrum behind the Bomber net, Donald Milburn waited at centre-ice for Everett Bear. It was like watching David versus Goliath, as Milburn dropped him like a bad habit, landing a punch that sent Bear crashing to the ice. Curtis McCombie was next, dropping the mittens with John Fleweger at 13:45. McCombie held his own with Fleweger, who outweighed him easily by 100 lbs. Unfortunately, McCombie was given an extra two-minutes, and the Phil Butt closed the scoring in the second period with a power-play goal at 15:36, with assists going to Jared Lang and Pat Power. Goaltender Koscielny only played 4:43 of the third period, before leaving the game with an injury. Reimer was back in the net to finish the game Ð not an enviable position against the Blizzard. OCN managed four unanswered goals in the third period, and the Bombers replied with two more to finish the game. Brian Patterson scored unassisted at 5:54, and Aaron Starr made it 10-4 at 7:30 with John Vanderbragger getting on the game sheet with an assist. OCN's 11th goal came just 17 seconds later, as Justin Tetrault scored his first of the game from Michael Young and Aaron Starr. Jared Lang closed the scoring for OCN at 8:47 with a power-play goal, and Mike Gooch and Jon Meyer assisting. Flin Flon finally got a goal at 9:49 of the third period to stop the bleeding. Rookie Kurt Matthewson decided to take matters into his own hands, as the young defenceman carried the puck up the ice and put a shot through the five-hole of Meyer. Andrew Skrabek wrestled with Pat Power at 14:55, sparking a little more offence, as Matt Jones scored the Bombers sixth goal on a power play at 16:58 with Derrick Pruden assisting. Jones was Johnny on the spot, banging a loose puck into the back of the net. With time winding down, Derek Blais took care of some unfinished business, scrapping with Paul Wallman at 18:15. Rookie Kurt Matthewson capped off an impressive night with the third part of a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, taking on Don Melnyk at 18:39. Although the final score was 12-6, the Bombers impressed the crowd at times, especially in the first period and late in the third. "I thought we came out pretty hard and played with a lot of emotion in the first period," said head coach Ryan Hoffman. "Burwell and his scrap with Ryhorchuk got everybody going. We were pretty high after that first period. When we came into the dressing room and sat down for 15 minutes, we lost some of that emotion." See 'Find' P.# Con't from P.# The Bombers will have to find a way to carry over that emotion to the second period if they want to compete this year in the SJHL. "In the second period, OCN's skill took over," said Hoffman. "When you compare both teams, talent-wise, they are infinitely more talented than us. They have four or five guys who are going to score 40 or 50 goals this year. When you compare apples to apples, there is no question that they have more talent than us. At the end of the day, the score clock said 12-6, but I don't think that anyone will disagree that it wasn't a 12-6 game." Goaltender Paul Reimer started his first game in nearly a year, and looked shaky at times, although he didn't have a lot of help in the second period. "Paul struggled a bit," said Hoffman, "but this was probably his first legitimate real-game action in nearly a year. He'd probably like a handful of those goals back." There is no doubt that Reimer will get better with every game played. If the Bomber veterans can step up their efforts so second period blowouts don't happen, Reimer will give the Bombers a chance to win on any given night. The Bombers are still at 31 players in camp right now, which is likely an indicator of rookies challenging the vets for a spot on the team. Hoffman had said earlier that he would like to be down to 26 players to take to Saskatoon this weekend. "Some decisions have been made pretty tough for us," said Hoffman. "There are some guys playing pretty well. We're going to give them another look at the tournament this weekend. We'll continue to use these next three games as a tool to evaluate players." Hoffman assures that after the weekend, the team will cut back in numbers to prepare for the season, set to begin on September 19 in La Ronge. In other Bomber news, Erik Knutson has rejoined the team, after being released from the Kelowna Rockets training camp. Still with WHL teams are Daryl Fransoo and Keith Spencer.
