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.
Forty-five shots and eight goals later, the Flin Flon Bombers earned another win on the road. After a successful four out of five wins before the Christmas break, the Bombers were back in action last Friday and looking for their fifth. With lots of scoring between the two teams, Bomber goalie Ryan Kerpan allowed six goals on 33 shots. As the Maroon and White took their 8-6 win, it was a good way to continue where they had left off before the break. "We're happy with the win," says assistant coach Trevor Sack. "It's the first one after the break, (so you) expect it to be a little sloppy." And although the team wasn't expecting to see the best game of the season, they weren't expecting so many goals from both sides. "But we're fortunate to be on the winning end," Sack says. The game itself was not a very physical one, but Sack says the end to end rushes kept the game going. As the Bombers sat with a 6-2 lead over the home Ice Wolves in the second period before La Ronge scored a few more, Sack says the Flin Flon defense needs some work. "But at the end of the day," he says, "We're happy with the two points." The Bombers were given nine days of rest for the holidays before getting back on the ice with some "good practices," says Sack. But with any team, Sack says a break can take its toll. "Your systems aren't as sharp and it takes the guys a couple of games to get back into the swing of things," he says. As the Bombers got their game on Friday, they had another challenge waiting for them at home the next night. The Bombers took on the Notre Dame Hounds, which resulted in a 4-3 win in overtime for the Hounds. Going into Friday's game against the Ice Wolves, Sack says it's always nice to get that first win out of the way. As well, "it's a good way to start 2009," he says. The following is a summary from Friday's game between the Bombers and the Ice Wolves: The Maroon and White opened fire in the first period as Tommy Castonguay got past Mark Trousdell in the first minute of play with help from Dominic Martel and Alex Lamontagne. The score sat at 1-0 for the first five minutes of play until the Ice Wolves answered back and made it anyone's game. But the Bombers weren't happy with that as they scored three more goals. Ben Bitz found a sweet spot after accepting a pass from linemate Doug McLeod at the 12:18 mark. Next up, Bomber Cole Wilson was on the scene with a shot from Reid MacLeod and Josh Garneau to make it 3-0. MacLeod wasn't satisfied with just an assist as he got a helper from Brennan Cox and Wilson for the team's fourth goal. With four seconds left on the clock in the first period, the Ice Wolves brought the score a little closer with their second goal of the game. Going into the second period, the Bombers had already handed off 14 shots, while Kerpan saw 11. Each team was given a penalty in the first period with David Dykstra and Ben Findlay in for hooking. As for the second 20 minutes of play, the Bombers started the scoring off once against with a goal from Lamontagne, after accepting a pass from Martel and Castonguay, just before the two minute mark. And a few minutes later, McLeod was back at it with help from Lamontagne. Sitting at 6-2, the Ice Wolves were able to get past the Bombers on a power play before scoring their fourth goal. But once again, the Bombers weren't happy with that and were able to get to the back of the net with a goal from Kevin Carpenter, with help from MacLeod and Wilson. And as he already had one goal and two assists from the night, Wilson lit the lantern for the team's eighth goal with helpers from Castonguay and MacLeod. Ending out the second period, the Ice Wolves bumped their score up another with just a few minutes left. By the end of the period, the Bombers had fired off 21 shots Ð four of which were goals, while Kerpan had 13 come his way. The third period was a quiet one compared to the rest of the game as the Ice Wolves scored the only goal that period Ð making the final score 8-6 for the Bombers.
