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.
Tuesday night the Bombers hosted the Nipawin Hawks in what would be the Maroon and White's closest game since their run-in with the La Ronge Ice Wolves earlier this month. The Bombers went onto win the contest 5-4 in overtime with a goal from Brennan Cox. Up until the final seven minutes of the third period, the Bombers were in total control of the game Ð which made going into overtime frustrating for the coaching staff. Head coach and GM Mike Reagan said it was a tense place on the bench. "Because we were in total control of the game," he said, the team was frustrated and disappointed. "I mean, it came down to the last seven minutes that we just lost concentration." But Reagan says that's what happens "when you let a team hang around." "It ends up coming to bite you later on in the game," he said. The Bombers earned the first goal of the game Ð and this season, when they score the first goal, they often win. It was Alex Lamontagne's marker that got the game going just shy of the 10-minute mark of the first period, with help from Jeff Lorenz and Ryan Fox. The team's second goal followed within six minutes from Matty Lecours (Lorenz, Jonathan Young) to end out the first period. The Bombers remained in control of the game as they fired off 20 shots in the first period on former Flin Flon goalie Ryan Kerpan, while Bomber netminder Klynt Spencer knocked aside 13 from the Hawks. Though the Bombers were up in the game, Reagan says they didn't play the way they know how. "I was disappointed we didn't play our systems, but ya know what, we've played so well as of late, that you're going to have those from time to time," he said. Comparing hockey to life, Reagan says it's not possible to perform 100 per cent every night. "The most important thing is that we got the two points. Good teams will find a way to win and we found a way to win," he said. It wasn't how he thought they would have, or could have, won, but in the end Ð they earned their points. "Am I frustrated? Yeah, a little, but I know that we can't play all 58 games perfect," Reagan said. Hitting the ice for the second period, Devin Mitzner earned the team's third goal of the night just before the two-minute mark on the clock. With help from Andrew Johnston and Lecours, Mitzner was able to get past Kerpan. And earning the team's fourth goal of the night, and his second, was Lamontagne (Ben Bitz) just before the 10-minute mark. With the score sitting at 4-0, the Hawks got their gears going and earned their first goal against Spencer nearing the 17-minutes mark of the second period. Tuesday's win against the Hawks gave the Bombers a six-game winning streak. The team wasn't playing at full strength, though, as both Tanner Korchinski and Michael Young were out of the lineup. "Those are two big parts of our team," said the coach. See 'Played' on pg. Continued from pg. Without their captain as well as another big contributor, Reagan says he thought the Bombers played a good game Ð just not the game they practiced. "I thought that the guys who played, played a decent game. It's just, as a team, we didn't play a team game." Reagan says they played "a selfish" game against the Hawks. "We were trying to do things individually. "Everybody was concerned about points and putting up big numbers," he said. "They weren't concerned about playing the systems and that's what happens when you aren't concerned about playing the systems." With Kerpan back in the Whitney Forum for the first time since his trade, Reagan thought the goalie performed well. "I mean, there are probably a couple of goals he would like to have back, but at the same time, he gave his team a chance to win," he said. Heading into the third period, the Bombers dominated the scoreboard 4-1, but that would soon change as the final seven minutes of play allowed the Hawks to earn three quick goals to tie things up 4-4. The teams faced off in overtime for nearly three minutes before Cox found the back of the net for the win Ð with help from Dominic Martel and Lamontagne. During the game, Reagan called a time-out in which he told his players they had to get their act together to claim the win. "We needed to get focused and stop running around, and play the systems," he told the guys. The time-out talk was similar to what he told the team in the first and second intermissions. Next up for the Bombers is the SJHL Showcase. Last night, the Bombers and Broncos faced off and this morning, the Maroon and White will face the Hawks once again. The Bombers start off the month of December with a double-header weekend at the Whitney Forum December 4 and 5.
