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.
Kelly Carrington Staff Writer The Flin Flon Bombers ended their regular season on home ice with a 3-2 loss to the Nipawin Hawks, Tuesday night. Both the Hawks and the Bombers had their playoff Ð or lack thereof in Nipawin's case Ð destinies spoken before the game. Therefore, both the Hawks and the Bombers didn't invest a whole lot into the game. The Bombers, who sit fifth in the Bauer Conference, are one position above the Hawks. Tuesday's game didn't bring much excitement to the stands as there wasn't even much of a hit until late in the first period. Dillan (Pickle) McCombie scored the first goal, giving the Bombers a 1-0 lead late in the opening period. But with just shy of 20 seconds left on the clock, the Hawks tied the game. From there, the Bombers and Hawks went back and forth on the scoreboard, ultimately leaving the final goal in Nipawin's hands. Switched The Bombers had switched a few things during recent practices for their upcoming playoff series against the Battlefords North Stars. "Kind of our whole game plan was if we were playing Battleford tonight," said head coach and GM Mike Reagan. Knowing that Nipawin has a few different techniques than Battleford, Reagan says he's still "happy with some of the changes we made." The Bombers couldn't pull off a win for their final game of the season and that left Reagan with mixed feelings. "We didn't want to put too much stock into this game," said the coach. "Obviously, I'm disappointed we lost the game." Going on to say that it's "human nature" to want to win any game you play, Reagan said sometimes he questioned that with some of his players. "I think a few of our guys went out there for a skate, tonight," he said. "I don't think they put any importance on tonight's game." See 'Loss...' on pg. 10 Continued from pg. 4 Making mention that it was a nothing game, Reagan said he still hoped for a victory, as it would give the team momentum going into the post-season. "It isn't a big deal," he said about the loss. "Going into the playoffs, you'd like to get a win under your belt and feel good about yourself and just build a little momentum heading into Friday." With the end of the regular season behind them, the Bombers had one full practice left before the Elimination Series against the North Stars. Wednesday, the team would be on the ice before hitting the road on Thursday. Thursday night, the coach said the team would have a chance to skate in Battleford before taking on the team Friday night. Leading up to the games, Reagan says the team will be working on their specialty teams as well as a few other things. Atmosphere Over the course of the last couple seasons, the team atmosphere has been different. This year, the team is on a different track, at times. "The last couple of years we had a team, that, I think, was a serious contender to win," said Reagan. "I think this year has been a little bit of a rebuilding phase." Knowing that patience is key, Reagan says he was "hoping that they [would] come around and that, but we just haven't seen it." "There are some nights that we look really good and compete hard and then there are other nights, like [Tuesday] where we take the night off," said Reagan. "That's maybe the difference." Looking back over the last few seasons, the coach says the team didn't take nights off nearly as much as this team. "There were times where we took nights off in the past, but we were just more consistent as a group,"said the former Bomber. "I think that comes with experience with the players you have." Reagan says this season was a "rebuilding" year for the Bombers as they lost eight players at the end of last season, due to age. This year, looking down the bench, Reagan says after the first line, the team is running pretty well on rookies. "Our second, third and fourth line are all first-year players, basically," he said. In the juniors, rebuilding years are inevitable as players are only eligible to play until they are 20. Realizing that, Reagan says he hopes the younger players will be able to keep their game going. "I'm hoping that our youth will be a little more consistent in the playoffs and realize that they need to show up each and every game." The Bombers and North Stars face off for their first game of the series on Friday in Battleford. Saturday will be another home game for the North Stars. Monday night, the Bombers will host. From there, if more games are needed, the Bombers will host on Tuesday and then head to Battleford on Thursday. In the best-of-five series, Reagan says he's unsure of what will happen. "I don't know. It depends on which team shows up," said the coach. "I think that if we compete hard and come to play, I think that we've got a very good chance, but if we've got guys that are going through the motions and looking to everyone else to do what we need to do to win, then it will be an early exit." Reagan says he's got two different teams on his hands. "...it all depends on which team shows up," he said.
