The Whitney Forum provides a home-ice advantage like fewer other rinks do.
“The best part of playing in the Whitney is definitely the atmosphere,” said Bombers forward Nick Shumlanski. “It’s one of the loudest rinks I’ve ever played in and when opposing teams come to the Whitney, it’s intimidating and helps us jump on them early.”
Unfortunately for the Bombers, home-ice advantage was not enough over the recent long weekend. The Bombers lost twice to the Battlefords North Stars: 4-3 in a shootout on Friday, Oct. 7 and 3-0 on Saturday, Oct. 8.
“I didn’t think we played bad at all,” Flin Flon head coach Mike Reagan said. “It was just one of those weekends that didn’t go our way.”
Reagan said that it was a battle of two good teams. He felt his squad could have gone 2-0 or 0-2. Flin Flon earned a point in the standings with the shootout loss.
Construction of the Whitney Forum was announced in 1958. The facility officially opened in 1960. Since then players such as Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach have called the Whitney home.
Current Bombers forward Jason Lavallee said playing in a facility with such a great history means a lot.
“The building has had quite a few great players play in it,” he said. “The fan support in the Whitney is something you can’t duplicate in any other junior organization.”
The North Stars visited Flin Flon last weekend for the first time since the two teams tangled in the SJHL semifinals last spring.
On Friday, Battlefords held leads of 2-0 and 3-2 at the intermissions. The Bombers kept fighting back. Flin Flon defenceman Ben Lanfermann. scored to send the game into overtime.
In the shootout, none of the Bombers’ four shooters was able to light the lamp, while Kendall Fransoo was the lone North Star who could score. Flin Flon goalie Zac Robidoux made 42 saves on 45 shots, while the Bombers sent 44 shots at Taryn Kotchorek.
Battlefords goalie Joel Gryzbowski made 27 saves to shut out the Bombers, 3-0, on Saturday night. Connor Sych scored twice on the power play for the North Stars while their other goal came with an empty net.
Flin Flon’s Brenden Newton stopped 33 of the 35 shots he faced. Reagan said it was Newton’s best game of the season so far.
Injuries to a couple of top forwards shortened the Bombers bench on the night. Jason Lavallee had a strong weekend with two points on Friday and a good game on Saturday, Reagan noted.
After playing six of their first 10 games at home – with two neutral site contests at the SJHL Showcase – the Bombers hit the road this week. They are in Humboldt on Wednesday and in Estevan Thursday.
This weekend, the Flin Flon squad plays at Weyburn on Saturday and at Notre Dame in Wilcox on Sunday.
“I always think that four games in five nights really tells you a lot about your team,” said Reagan, who noted that the coaching staff and players are excited for the trip.
Road trips, especially early in the season, can benefit teams by building camaraderie. When asked about road trips, Flin Flon defenceman Cory Thomas said, “It’s a great chance for us to be together as a team. We’re on the bus and in hotels a lot more than some other teams, so it gives us plenty of time to bond off the ice and away from the rink. I think that’s one reason why we find success, because we’re that much closer as a whole.”
