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 Bombers picked up one point in the first two games of their road trip, tying Nipawin on Friday before losing to the Battlefords on Saturday. Sunday's results were not available at press time. Flin Flon scored a power-play goal and a short handed goal on Friday night to tie the Nipawin Hawks at 2-2. Anytime the Bombers can steal a point out of Nipawin is a moral victory for the team, as they always face some form of adversity. On Friday night, the Bombers were out shot 48-26, although Nipawin seems to get credit for a shot every time they cross the blue line. The real test for the team came in overtime, when Mike Natale was penalized for hooking at the 1:55 mark of the extra stanza. The Bombers were out shot 7-2 in overtime, but managed to keep the puck out of the net to preserve the tie. Jon Lawrance had his first goal as a Nipawin Hawk, opening the scoring at 10:22 of the first period on a power play. Stewart Sjoberg replied with a short handed marker at 10:48, although the official game sheet showed no penalties at that time. Richard Dupre and Fritz Sauter assisted on the goal, which was Sjoberg's sixth on the season. In the second period, Kevin Lavallee scored at 16:14 to give Nipawin back their lead, but Blake Rolston scored a power-play goal at 18:15 to tie the game, with assists going to Mike Natale and Tyler Beachell. Both teams went 1/9 on the power play, and Flin Flon added a short handed marker. On Saturday, the Bombers couldn't buy a goal, going zero for 12 on the power play and out shooting the North Stars 30-26. Dustin MacDonald was perfect in net for the Stars, who scored all three of their goals on nine power-play chances. Riley Lang scored at 17:30 of the first period, and Brett Jullion added a pair in the second period at 8:30 and 18:09. The Bombers battled hard in the third period, out shooting the North Stars 11-5, but couldn't find a way to score. The loss leaves them nine points behind the Melfort Mustangs and 12 points behind the Battlefords North Stars for the final playoff spots in the ITECH Conference. Flin Flon is now 3-5-2 in their last 10 games, which is the hottest they have been all year. Melfort is also struggling, but the Bombers have not been able to get much closer than nine points. As bad as things may seem, Flin Flon is not out of the equation yet. If they can manage to keep close to Melfort, they have six games remaining this year against the Mustangs, which could put Flin Flon ahead if they win them all. With that in mind, it is unlikely that the Mustangs will lose every other game, so the Bombers need to find a way to win some hockey games in order to keep close in the standings. So far this season, The Bombers have lost twice to the Mustangs by scores of 6-1 and 4-2, both games at the Whitney Forum. If the team is serious about playing hockey, the playoffs are still within their reach. After closing their current road trip yesterday in Kindersley, the Bombers return home for games against Weyburn and Humboldt this weekend. Both teams are in the bottom half of the Sherwood Conference.
