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.
The first 10 minutes of Friday's game between the Flin Flon Bombers and the Weyburn Red Wings were crucial. But Bomber goalie Matt Weninger was able to hold on for the team and get the Maroon and White the start they needed. Flying out with the goals, the Bombers drove the Red Wings home 12-1 for the win. Head coach and GM Mike Reagan said no one was expecting the blowout that the Whitney Forum saw Friday night. "I mean, it was one of those things tonight," he said. "We started out slow and got some momentum and then it's just all about capitalizing on your opportunities." Earning four goals himself, Devin Mitzner was one of those players who was able to capitalize. Also earning a few markers were Dominic Martel and Mike Rey, with two goals each. Also getting in on the scoring action was newly-named Bomber Ryan Fox, Andrew Johnston, captain Michael Young and David Dykstra. A couple players racked up a few helpers as well as Dougie McLeod had two, as well as Young and David Roper and Dykstra. Rey came in with three markers under his name while Martel had one. Matty Lecours earned one along with Patrick Howey, Brennan Cox and Tanner Korchinski. Reagan said the team owed the win to Weninger as he came up with some big saves in the first 10 minutes. "We could have been the ones down 3-0," said Reagan. Weninger stepped up to the plate in a way Reagan knew he could. "That's what we expected from him Ð a championship type goaltender and that's why I chose to choose him and not (Ryan) Kerpan," he said, referring to the recent trade of Kerpan to the Nipawin Hawks. Keeping Weninger turned out to be a very wise choice. "We feel he's the guy who can win us the big game. Tonight was a big game and he was there for us. "He's been phenomenal since the trade. He had two bad games at the beginning of the year and that's it. Ever since then, he's been, in my opinion, the best goalie in the league." Though the Bombers were all over the score sheet, the coach says he doesn't think they dominated the game. "It's just that every chance we had, we were able to capitalize and it's just about being confident right now," he said. Almost 1,200 fans were in attendance for one of the most anticipated series the Bombers are scheduled for. Though it wasn't exactly what those in the Whitney Forum were expecting to see. For Weyburn, who sat eight points ahead of the Bombers in the SJHL standings, they had A.J.. Whiffen in net for the game. "With Whiffen, we know he's a good goaltender," said Reagan. "I could see he was frustrated." Going into the second period, the Bombers were up 2-0 Ð a standard score, but by the end of the second period, the Bombers had earned another five goals, while the Red Wings earned one. "His team didn't play well in front of him," said Reagan in reference to Whiffen. "They didn't do a good job of clearing rebounds and I really felt for the kid." Weyburn's coach Dwight McMillan chose to leave Whiffen in the mesh. "I was surprised Dwight left him in for so long," said Reagan. "I think it's a tough situation. "We were talking about it on the bench and how I couldn't believe they kept him in after seven goals. I don't know if he was sending a message to him or what he was doing." But none the less, Whiffen remained in net Ð as the Bombers were able to get past him another five times in the third period. Knowing that that was not a typical game, especially between the top two teams in the league, Reagan said Friday's game set them up for Saturday Ð as it would be a tighter game. "It's going to be a different game tomorrow night. I'm expecting a very tight game and we're going to have to be ready for tomorrow night, that's for sure." See 'About' on pg. Continued from pg. Ending out Friday's game, Reagan spoke to the team in the dressing room about keeping focused for the next night Ð as he knew the second game of the series would not play out the same way. "It's tough. It's about being mentally tough about tomorrow," he said. "Am I happy about this win?" he asked in a rhetorical question. "Ya, it's great, but at the same time Ð you kind of worry about tomorrow night. "You don't want your guys to think it's going to come easy tomorrow and I guess it's my job to make sure they are ready for it tomorrow night." Putting the emphasis on the fact that they are going to have to keep focused, Reagan says it's something the team has gone over. "It's about making sure they understand that that's a better team than what happened tonight. It was one of those things were we could shoot 100 shots tomorrow and maybe we don't score (any) where tonight everything we shot we scored." Reagan said another big issue was going to be staying confident as a team and hoping they "didn't waste all our goals tonight." Not only was Friday night a success for the Bombers, but it brought them to a four game winning streak and a 5-1 record for the month of November. At the start of the month, Reagan said the club took at look at their schedule and said it was going to be a tough month for them. "For us to be 5-1 right now, I think it's about is just coming together as a group," said Reagan. The Bombers have added some new blood to the team Ð Rey and Fox Ð and the coach says that has made a big impact on the players. With the addition of Rey and now the addition of Fox, it's a confidence boost right now. It's almost a snowball affect," he says. With the players looks and seeing their team mates having the success they have been having, Reagan says it just snowballs and gets from player to player, "And now they are going 'wow, we could really win this thing.'" Reagan says it's all about "becoming a believer." "I think the guys are believing we are the best team in the league right now," he said. Coming from a former championship team Ð the Prince Albert Mintos, Fox joins the team with experience. According to Reagan, Fox is another player for opposing teams to worry about. Joining forces with Rey, Mitzner, Johnston and a few other of the top team players, Reagan says teams are going to start realizing "the Bombers are a team to be reckoned with." "They can't just focus on Mitzner or Matty Lecours," he said. "Now they've got to worry about Mitzner, Matty, Andrew, Rey, Dykstra, Martel and Fox. And if we can get Alex (Lamontagne) going, that's another guy." Reagan made note that many teams have three or four dangerous guys, but now, the Bombers are sitting with seven or eight dangerous guys. Friday night's game showed good offensive play on the Bombers part. Saturday night, they hosted the Red Wings in game two of the double header weekend Ð when their defense showed up to help win the game 2-1.
