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.
Continuing on with their recent road success, the Flin Flon Bombers were in Yorkton Tuesday to match up against the Terriers. It was a happy place for the Bombers as they left the rink with two points and a 4-3 win over the home team. Standing in net for the Bombers was Matt Weninger, who had 29 shots come his way while the Bombers answered back with 27 shots on Devin Peters. Racking up a few points for the Bombers were Devin Mitzner with a goal, along with Cole Wilson and Michael Young with a goal and an assist each. Young's marker proved to be the game-winner, while Reid MacLeod also scored. As it stood after Tuesday's game, the Bombers claimed six out of their last seven road games Ð giving them an impressive road record. Head coach and GM Mike Reagan says a lot of it comes down to the guys being more relaxed on the road than at home, in the Whitney Forum. "Things are more simple and (aren't) complicated," says Reagan, noting that a home game has the added pressure of wanting to add entertainment to the game. "On the road, it's a matter of getting the guys into the mental part of the game," he says. "While at home, you need to put on a show." When it comes not only to the Maroon and White, but any team on the road, it doesn't matter if it's an exciting game or not. "You don't care on the road," says Reagan. "It can be boring hockey, as long as you win." And that theory worked well for the Bombers as they claimed another win. Before heading into Tuesday's game, Reagan and assistant coach Trevor Sack both made of a point of saying the key was going to be to hold the Terriers to a low scoring game. Things were going as planned for the Bombers. "We kind of lulled the Terriers to sleep," says Reagan. "We had two solid periods and we kept it simple." The third period had the Bombers giving up a few goals, but they were able to maintain a lead over the Terriers. "We had some timely goals that made the difference in the hockey game," Reagan says, noting that the team kept the pressure on the Terriers. Of course it's important for any team to keep their opponents' scoring as low as possible. "You want the minimal amount of goals as possible," Reagan says. "And Yorkton isn't a team that scores a lot." The team figured it would be the safe way to keep a tight game and get a couple of goals for themselves Ð another strategy that worked well for the Bombers. According to Reagan, it was a 4-2 game as a late third period goal made it 4-3. "Other than that, we did a good job," says the coach. The following is a summary of the game: The hometown boys got the scoring started early in the first period with a goal past Weninger, and it was late in the period when the Bombers were finally able to answer back. Mitzner found the back of the net with help from Dan Lind and David Dykstra to tie things up at one. Penalties were once again few and far between as the Bombers were in for high-sticking and holding while the Terriers were in for tripping. Weninger was given six shots to deal with in the first 20 minutes of play while the Maroon and White passed off 10 to Peters. The second period had the Bombers taking no chances as Wilson scored the only goal with help from Josh Garneau and Patrick Sitko to break the tie. As the score sat at 2-1, both teams tried for another goal, but were unable to get past each other's goalies. The Bombers had another eight attempts, while Weninger turned away another six. The only penalty in the period was served by the Terriers for hooking. As the third period came around, the score still sat at 2-1 for the Bombers. The Maroon and White were okay with the score, but the Terriers weren't about to give up. Flin Flon got the scoring started with a goal from MacLeod, assisted by Garneau and Young, before the Terriers got past Weninger. The score now sitting at 3-2, Young widened the gap a little farther with help from Wilson. To wrap things up, the Terriers scored their final goal, which ended out the scoring as well. The late-period goal wasn't enough for the home team to take those two points they wanted, but it was enough for the Bombers to hit the road with another success under their belts. Heading off the ice, the Bombers were then to prepare for the next night, Wednesday, as they headed to Melville for their second road game in as many nights. Going into the match-up, Reagan was expecting a tough game. The Maroon and White were taken down 6-4. "Melville is the top team in the South, so we knew it would be a tough game," the coach said after Wednesday night's game. "With a couple guys sick ad injured, it would be a tough game to win. We gave it a chance...but came up on the short end of the stick."
