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 got an early Christmas present last weekend when two wins gave them top spot in the SJHL heading into the new year. In a couple of low-scoring affairs in Kindersley, Flin Flon downed the Klippers 2-1 Friday and 2-1 again Saturday before heading into 13-day holiday break. The wins were crucial considering that the Weyburn Red Wings, who are fighting the Bombers for SJHL supremacy, also won twice. Flin Flon's victories gave the Bombers 55 points, one more than the Wings. The Bombers also strengthened their grip on the Bauer Conference, putting a 12-point gap between them and the second-place Battlefords North Stars. Following a scoreless opening period Friday, blueliner Taylor Thiessen (Dominic Martel, Mike Rey) bagged his 16th goal of the season early in the second to give Flin Flon a lead they would never relinquish. Midway through the second, SJHL scoring leader Rey (Alex Lamontagne, Michael Young) padded the lead when he slipped one past Kindersley starter Josh Thorimbert on the power play. Despite outshooting the Bombers 34-33, the Klippers could muster just one goal, with Sean Flanagan (Johnny Calkins, Steven Turner) besting Matt Weninger on a power play midway through the third. A solid performance earned Weninger first star honours, with Rey taking second and Thorimbert third in a match-up played before 485 fans. The goalies were also the focal point in Saturday's re-match, which needed an extra period to solve. Kindersley's Braden Adamyk (Andrew Dommett) broke a scoreless tie midway through the second when he beat Weninger. Midway through the third, Patrick Sitko (Tanner Korchinski, Andrew Johnston) lit the lamp behind Thorimbert to even things up. The 1-1 score stood until the end of regulation, sending the action into OT. Creighton's Ryan Fox (Brennan Cox) became the Grinch to the Kindersley crowd when he notched the game winner at 2:43 Ð shorthanded, no less. The goal would have come as a relief to Weninger, who took his second penalty of the season when he was called for tripping less than two minutes into the extra frame. The Kippers again outshot the Bombers, this time 27-21, but Weninger showed why he is one of the league's most dependance starters and again earned the first star. Second star honours went to Kindersley's Sanfred King, with Weninger's rival for the night, Thorimbert, nabbing the third star before a crowd of 745 fans. December went as well as the Bombers could have expected. Seven of nine games ended in a W, and just one loss Ð against La Ronge Ð came in regulation time. The other loss, also against La Ronge, came after a shootout. The Bombers open 2010 with a home game against the Notre Dame Hounds January 2.
