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.
If the Bombers want to beat the Weyburn Red Wings this weekend, they will have to do it without top goal scorer Andrew Skrabek. Skrabek has been suspended for two games as a result of his accumulation of misconduct penalties. The Bombers host the Red Wings for games on Friday and Saturday night at the Whitney Forum. In their only previous meeting this season, Weyburn defeated Flin Flon 6-5 in overtime on October 26, which was the Bombers' fourth game in five nights on the road. The lead exchanged hands a number of times. Weyburn stormed out to a 3-0 lead, but four unanswered goals by Flin Flon put them ahead after two periods of play. After exchanging goals, Weyburn's Shayne Emmons tied the game with eight seconds remaining on the clock. Kenny King scored the winning goal with a minute left to play in the extra frame for the Wings, who out shot the Bombers 45-25 in the game. Much has changed for both teams since that game. After winning only three games in January, the Bombers will need to win the majority of their remaining games to stay alive in the hunt for a playoff spot, and hope that Nipawin starts to slide. The Red Wings are currently second in the Sherwood Conference, just four points behind Melville with a game in hand. Leading the attack for Weyburn is Jereme Tendler, who is their top scorer with 24 goals and 57 points in 48 games. Also dangerous is Clayton Bastura, who is second on team scoring with 48 points, and Shayne Emmons and Rick Wood aren't far behind with 45 points each. Greg Park is also a point-a-game player with 44 points in 44 games. Flin Flon's top scorer is rookie Joey Moggach with 42 points in 45 games. Andrew Skrabek has 35 points but will not be in the line-up. Defenceman Jeff LaPointe is third in scoring on the Bombers with 32 points. At home, Flin Flon boasts the league's best power play at 24.8%, while Weyburn's road power play operates at just 15.3%. Killing penalties, neither team ranks well. The Bombers have a kill rate of 81.2%, ninth in the league at home, while the Red Wings are seventh on the road at 81.3%. With 15 road wins, the Red Wings are the league's best team away from their own barn. Mathematically, the Bombers are still in the race for the final playoff spot in the Dodge Conference, but even if the Bombers were to win all 13 of their remaining games, Nipawin can still keep ahead of the Bombers by winning eight of their last 15 games. It is also possible for the Bombers to catch the fourth spot in the Sherwood conference, but that would require a lot of help from other teams as well. First things first, the Bombers will have to take care of business on their own, starting with four points this weekend. It doesn't matter how many games other teams win or lose if the Bombers can't take care of business at home. Anything short of two wins will make it nearly impossible for the Bombers to make the playoffs. Don't miss the action, Friday and Saturday at the Whitney Forum. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
