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 may be ending the 2000s on a high note, but fans may be more likely to remember the decade for its lows rather than its highs. Things started out promising enough in 2000-01, when the Maroon and White finished tops in the SJHL and hosted the prestigious Royal Bank Cup tournament. Before a national audience watching on TSN, the Bombers lost in the championship game to the Camrose Kodiaks, but it remained a thrilling experience that fans still talk about. The high from that spring would soon wear off. Amid a rebuilding campaign, Flin Flon scraped up just 10 wins in 64 games in 2001-02 and, quite naturally, missed the post-season for the first time in four seasons. Fans didn't know it at the time, but it was the beginning of a long, dark period for junior hockey in Flin Flon. In 2002-03, Flin Flon could only manage another 10 wins in 60 tries, meaning another early spring. The Bombers improved somewhat in 2003-04, capturing 17 W's in 60 games, but that was still only good for fifth in their conference. In 2004-05, with the NHL locked out and hockey fans in dire need of a fix, the Bombers again failed to deliver, collecting just 10 victories in 55 match-ups. The Bombers nearly doubled their win total in 2005-06 but remained 14 games below .500. On the bright side, they returned to the playoffs, though Flin Flon would go down in the quarter-final. Fans hoping the Bombers would build on that modest success in 2006-07 were left disappointed and baffled. Eighteen wins in 58 attempts were not anywhere near enough to bring playoff hockey back to the Whitney. In 2007-08, in a stunning turnaround under new coach and GM Mike Reagan, Flin Flon achieved a 32-point leap in the standings. Finishing third in their conference, the Bombers lost in the conference final, but the groundwork for future success appeared to have finally been laid. The Bombers won one fewer game in 2008-09 (though they played in two fewer match-ups), good for second in the Itech. The result, however, was another loss in the conference final. Well over halfway into 2009-10, the Bombers proudly sit atop the league standings with 55 points and are on pace for their best showing since 2001. All told for the decade (excluding the first half of 2000), the Bombers played 565 games, earning 219 wins, 286 losses, 68 ties and 23 overtime losses. In the nine seasons completed so far, they have missed the post-season five times, though are a lock to be in the big dance come this spring. In time, fans will get a glimpse at the next decade's version of the Flin Flon Bombers. And like the players on the ice, they will be hoping for more overall success than what the team has experienced these past 10 years.
