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Kelly Carrington Staff Writer The Flin Flon Bombers continued to prove their ability as they extended their winning streak last Saturday against the Battlefords North Stars. The 5-3 victory was used as leverage by the Flin Flon fans as they rubbed it in the North Stars' faces after the game. What started as a friendly rivalry between the fans and North Stars bench quickly intensified as a water bottle was tossed from the bench. Following the game, a crowd of angry fans swarmed over top of the North Stars dressing room, making sure they knew they weren't impressed with their actions. The Bombers skated off the ice and headed to their dressing Ð keeping their dignity intact. The Bombers and North Stars always seem to have a physical game, and Saturday was no different. The Game Coming off a win against the Notre Dame Hounds the night before, the Bombers started off the first period strong. The North Stars took their time as Bombers head coach and GM Mike Reagan said the visitors simply showed no emotion. The Bombers, on the other hand, stayed hungry with four goals in the first 20 minutes. D-man Jonathan Young got the first goal of the game as he tipped one in just before the five-minute mark. Just two minutes later, Eric Millisor snuck one past Kyle Birch to make it 2-0. The Bombers' third goal, on a power play, went to Devon Stillar. The game was starting to look like Friday's game against the Hounds as the Bombers earned one more marker before the end of the period. Young earned his second of the night with less than five minutes to go. Goals in the second period came solely from the North Stars as they earned one against P.J. Musico early in the period. With the score sitting at 4-1, Battlefords scored the first goal of the third period against Musico to make it 4-2. The Bombers answered with a goal from newcomer Brandt Weldon. The North Stars finished the scoring with the team's third goal of the night. All three of Battlefords' goals came on the power play. Refereeing The reffing of the game was questioned by many, both on and off the ice. "I'm frustrated with a few things," Reagan said after Saturday's game. "I thought (the ref) was trying to ref the score instead of ref the game." Reagan said this manner of reffing kept things close on the scoreboard. "He didn't want it to turn into a gong show," he said. Not only was Reagan unhappy, fans directed their fair share or comments at the ref. Reagan said when a ref is more concerned about the score than the game itself, it makes the winning team frustrated. "The team that's winning, they feel like they can't do anything without getting a penalty," he said. The Bombers faced 17 penalties Saturday night compared to the North Stars' 12. "I thought it was ridiculous," Reagan said. One missed call in particular that upset Reagan was a kneeing against Stillar in the third period. With only seven seconds left in the game, the call was disregarded. Reagan says a call like that should be made. "I don't care if there is seven seconds left or 60 minutes left. A knee is a knee and you (have to) be concerned about the kids," he said. Noting that the reason for referees is to keep the ice safe, Reagan said there were some dangerous moves Saturday that weren't called. Along with the knee against Stillar, Beau Stewart was hit five feet away from the boards earlier in the game. "Beau gets hammered in a dangerous area...and he gives the guy a two-minute penalty," said the coach. "I was just really frustrated with some of the calls that went against us. "I'm not saying we're angels out there." Reagan said the reffing "is what it is." He says a team is never going to like 100 per cent of the calls and the Bombers aren't going to spend more time worrying about it. Keep it going Heading into this weekend, the Bombers were on a hot streak. Reagan says the most important thing is to just keep it going. "Whenever your team is playing well, you want to play as many games as you can," he said. "We've got a confident group right now. "The biggest challenge is stressing for the guys to keep things simple and do the little things that have made us successful." Reagan says that's sometimes easier said than done. "As you start winning more and more, they start getting looser with their discipline with the game," said the coach. See 'Buying' on pg. 9 Continued from pg. 5 "It's our job as coaches to make sure they don't get lackadaisical, and it's starting to creep in," he said. "You can see it sometimes when we start to get leads." Buying In Over the last few years as coach of the Bombers, Reagan has made it clear that buying into the system is what's going to help the club win hockey games. "That's the biggest turnaround in our season," said Reagan, noting that the team is buying in. "The guys are doing the things that we want them to do, you know, for the most part." Reagan says it's evident sometimes, when the team gets a lead and gets away from the system, that they aren't there 100 per cent yet. But the Bombers have a plan for their game tonight against the Humboldt Broncos. "We're going to continue the same things that we're doing in practice right now, because it's working. We don't want to change things up too much, but maybe fine tune a few things," Reagan said. The Bombers will have to be on their game to keep their winning streak alive, as they and the Broncos always have tough matchups.
