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.
Revenge was on their minds, but the Bombers fell just shy of pulling out a win over the visiting Humboldt Broncos Tuesday night. The Maroon and White showed a strong effort, but the Broncos lived up to their defending champion title, skating away with a 6-4 victory. Humboldt broke past goalie Matt Weninger in the first period and kept their lead, but the Bombers gained some success early in the second period. A scoring frenzy left them short Ð and resulted in a dropped game on home ice. Coach Mike Reagan reacted to the loss as he does any other. ÒThey are all frustrating,Ó he says. ÒBut I mean, I thought we had the opportunity to win tonight. ÒThere were a couple minor mistakes that really hurt.Ó The coach says that seems to be the teamÕs story game after game. ÒThe mental breakdowns are killing us and we are shooting ourselves in the foot,Ó he says. To get back into the swing of things, the Bombers planned a few good practices before hitting the ice tonight and tomorrow night to face the Estevan Bruins. ÒWe have to get refocused and come up with better efforts,Ó Reagan says, though he agrees this is easier said than done. As for the teamÕs effort Tuesday, Reagan says it was by far better than what he saw the last time the two teams played. There is Òno question all areas (were) a better effort from us,Ó he says. But at the same time, it doesnÕt take the edge off the disappointment. ÒIs it easier to take?Ó Reagan asks. ÒNo, because the opportunity to win was there. ÒBut I have to be happy with the effort. But at the same time, when we needed the second wind, it wasnÕt there.Ó Going into the game, the coach says the team was strong and played good. ÒUnfortunately, they had a 1-0 lead going into the second,Ó he says. ÒThere were a couple of goals IÕm sure Weninger would like to have back and it might have been a different story,Ó he adds. The spectators, who added up to 748, in the crowd, were able to watch ÒtheirÓ boys in a physical game, which Reagan says came from the team Òpressing and trying to tie the game up.Ó The following is a summary from TuesdayÕs match-up between the Flin Flon Bombers and the Humboldt Broncos at the Whitney Forum: Matt Weninger was between the pipes for the Bombers as they were looking for revenge against the Broncos. Though the Bombers spent the majority of the period in the Bronco end, Humboldt was still able to get past the Maroon and White for a 1-0 lead by the end of the first period. The Bombers had a few chances in the first 20 minutes, with seven shots on net, while Weninger saw just five come his way. Ben Bitz was given two minutes in the sin bin for holding while the Broncos were given two penalties for interference and hooking. If fans looked away for just a second they would have missed Cole GibsonÕs goal in the second period. With only 58 seconds out of the way, Gibson accepted a pass from Doug McLeod and Alex Lamontagne for the teamÕs first marker. And from there, things got a little crazy. Jean-Sebastien Bergeron made his way down the ice with help from Lamontagne and Gibson to find the back of the net just 10 seconds later. With a 2-1 lead over the Broncos, the Bombers were looking pretty good Ð for 30 seconds or so. Humboldt answered back and tied things up at two apiece with a goal at the 1:35 mark by Nick Kalnicki. The first two minutes were a little more than the Whitney Forum was expecting as both teams gave it their all. After the scoring frenzy settled down, the teams were back at it looking for more. But it took some time as no one could get past either goalie for a while. Soon enough, the Broncos broke that tie and left the Bombers behind by two. A minute later they distanced themselves even more, earning a 4-2 lead. It wasnÕt looking too good for the Bombers, but with just a few minutes left in the second period, Cole Wilson scored the teamÕs third goal, with help from Pat Sitko and Bergeron, on a power play. See 'Back' on pg. Continued from pg. Ending the second period at 4-3 for the Broncos, the teams headed to their dressing rooms to prepare for the final period. In the second, the Bombers fired off another 14 shots while the Broncos managed 10. Each team was given a few penalties, as the Bombers were in for fighting and tripping. The Broncos were given minutes for goaltender interference, fighting and holding. The third period helped the Broncos break away with two goals for a 6-3 lead before Flin Flon blueliner Harley Garrioch scored the teamÕs fourth goal, with help from Tommy Castonguay and Mathieu Lecours. The Maroon and White gave up another seven shots while Weninger faced 11. Next on the docket for the Bombers is a double-header this weekend with the Estevan Bruins coming to the Whitney Forum. Reagan says his team canÕt take the Bruins and their losing record lightly. ÒEvery team can win on any given night,Ó he says. ÒAnd we canÕt treat this as an easy one. ÒItÕs tough to beat a team back to back (and) itÕs going to be a challenge for us.Ó
