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.
Losing is never good, but when you lose to the second best team in your division with only four defensemen, it's not as bad. That's the scenario the Flin Flon Bombers found themselves in after losing 4-3 to the Nipawin Hawks in Nipawin on Tuesday night. Bombers coach-GM Doug Stokes was pleased with his team's performance. "I thought we competed very hard," Stokes said. "In the third, I thought we were the better team." The Bombers also played most of the game without Richard Dupre who suffered an injury, which the team is calling a lower body one, in the opening period. The Bombers found themselves behind 2-0 seven minutes in as they received three consecutive penalties. They surrendered one goal on the power-play to the Hawks, who went 2-8 on the man-advantage. The team came back with goals by Blake Rolston and Jared Kissick, who has eight goals. Rookie forwards Kenton Staines and Darryl Finnerty earned assists, which was their second points of the season on Kissick's goal. The first four goals came in the first period. In the second, the Hawks earned two more goals which was all they needed to earn their 22nd win of the season, keeping them in second place in the Itech Conference. They trail the Battlefords' North Stars by five points. The final Bomber goal came from Dalton Pajak who collected his 16th of the season. Zane Kalemba started the game with Jared Smutt backing him up as Travis Crickard served his first game of a three-game suspension. Kalemba made 35 saves in a losing effort, while Danny Gagne stopped 27 shots. The Bombers finish their schedule before the Christmas break with games in Yorkton tonight and Melville tomorrow. Correction: The Reminder mistakenly reported in Wednesday's paper that goalie Travis Crickard would potentially miss action against La Ronge on Dec. 29 and 30. The story should have said Yorkton and Melville on Dec. 16 and 17.12/16/2005
