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.
A tired Flin Flon Bomber squad finished their toughest road trip of the season with two losses on the weekend. After winning their first road game of the year on Wednesday in Notre Dame, the Bombers lost a close 3-2 game in Weyburn on Friday and then were beat 8-4 in Estevan on Saturday. Despite being out shot 52-21 in Weyburn, the Bombers were able to keep up with the Wings until the final minute, thanks to the strong play by goaltender Francois Laverdiere. Two goals by Jordan Stevenson gave the Red Wings an early lead. He opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 5:29. He netted his second at 9:22. Nate Wilson replied for the Bombers with a timely goal at 19:14, unassisted. Mike McKinna tied the game at 12:34 of the second period, with assists going to Carter Chomyn and Wilson. The Bombers were out shot 16-3 in the third period, but were able to hold off the Wings until the final minute, when Kai Magnussen scored at 19:08 to win the game for Weyburn. The Wings scored one power play goal on three chances, while the Bombers failed to score on their three opportunities. On Saturday night, the Bruins scored in bunches to win 8-4. Flin Flon didn't have much gas left in the tank, playing their fourth road game in five nights, this time against the SJHL's best team. Bear Trapp opened the scoring at 3:27, and Chris Hammett followed right behind with a goal at 3:44. Dominic Cote netted a power-play goal at 11:01, before Dalton Pajak got the Bombers on the board at 16:27 from Tyler Beachell and Nate Wilson. Trapp's second of the game at 17:52 came on a power play and made it 4-1 for the Bruins after 20 minutes of play. Despite being out shot 18-8 in the second stanza, the Bombers won the period by a margin of 2-1. Pajak's second of the game at 10:37 was a power-play goal assisted by David Holinaty. Keith Hamilton scored for Estevan at 15:34, but Andrew Leslie replied for Flin Flon with a power-play goal at 17:32 from Clayton Geiger and Blake McCullough, and it was 5-3 after the second period. Three goals by Lorne Tytlandsvik in the third period buried the Bombers. He scored an even strength goal at 8:55, and then on the power play at 11:22. Bradyn McCullough scored his second goal as a Bomber at 16:41 from Geiger, and Tytlandsvik completed the hat trick at 19:23 with a power-play marker. Again Laverdiere was busy, as the Bombers were out shot 49-18. The Bruins made it work on the power play, scoring four times on six chances, while the Bombers were good on two of five tries. The Bombers will have the bulk of the week off to prepare for the Notre Dame Hounds, who will be looking for some revenge when they visit the Whitney Forum on Friday. Flin Flon stole two points from them on Wednesday night. The Bombers will be back on the bus for Saturday when they travel to Melfort for an important date with the Mustangs. Flin Flon remains ten points back of Melfort. The Mustangs are currently holding onto the final playoff spot in the ITECH Conference with 34 points. The Bombers will need to make up 10 points in nine games, with three head-to-head matches against the Mustangs.
