It may only be the start of preseason, but the Bombers' first week of action has been full, including an intrasquad tournament, the maroon and white game and a win over Nipawin to start.
Training camp included the first game action of the Bombers’ season, a three-team tournament between teams Blue, Green and Yellow. At stake was what the team calls the Jonny Doogs Cup, a trophy named in honour of Bomber superfan Jonathan “Jonny Doogs” Dougall. The award was given away for the first time on Saturday.
The first game pitted Yellow against Blue, with Yellow’s veteran presence and quality goaltending being the difference in a 5-1 win. Yellow got four of their five goals from returning Bombers - Jaxon Martens scored twice, while Matt Egan, Lucas Fry and rookie Braxton Kabrud each got singles - while Walker Berner and Kenneth Marquart combined for a 20 save win. Only Greg Diamond was able to beat the two rookie keepers for team Blue.
Things didn’t improve much for Blue in their second game, with Green picking up a 3-0 shutout win. Cole Duperreault, Brody West and Koen Senft each scored for Green, with goalies Ryan Bain and Connor Stojan splitting a shutout. Green would wrap up Friday with a victory over Yellow in the late game, setting up Saturday’s slate of games.
Blue would finally get a victory Saturday, getting goals from Matthew Langdon, Lucas Byrne and returnee Ethan Anstey en route to a 3-1 win - only Kabrud would find the twine for Yellow. To make matters worse for Yellow, they would lose again to Green immediately after, being shutout 4-0. Bain and Stojan combined for their second shutout in as many days, while Cole Tanchuk joined a trio of rookies - Cohen Boehm, Ezekiel Kirkness and Jacob Michelson - on the board.
Green would finish off a sweep of the round robin with a 4-3 win over Blue, with Kylynn Olafson’s two goals being the difference. Senft and Duperreault also added markers, while Diamond, Aiden Chow and Dawson Karol got Blue on the board.
With the playoff round set, Green would get a bye to the final while Yellow and Blue would slug it out. Paced by goals by Egan, Kabrud and rookies Nolan Rideout and Liam Bridger, Yellow would win 4-2 and earn the right to play for the Jonny Doogs Cup. Yellow would break Green’s winning streak with a 3-2 victory in the final game, picking up the trophy and claiming bragging rights.
Maroon and White
With the scrimmages out of the way, the Bombers’ annual Maroon and White intrasquad game was next up, going down at the Forum Sunday afternoon. While Maroon got on the board first, White got on the board often, with Jaeden Mercier tying things up midway through the first, making contact on a loose puck in the slot that cleared Maroon goalie Ethan Farrow.
Martens would capitalize on a gorgeous passing play moments later, set up by Mercier and Cheechoo Lathlin, giving White a late first-period lead - a lead they would not relinquish.
After an intermission goalie change, White took the opportunity to baptize Maroon goalie Berner with fire, lighting him up for three quick ones in the first 90 seconds. Martens got his second of the game unassisted at the 29 second mark, with Diamond sliding one under Berner less than 30 seconds later - Martens would get an assist on the goal.
The third goal came from Brent Gulenchyn, who would sneak a low shot past the goalie to make it 5-1 White. Chow would score with a point shot for Maroon to stop the bleeding, beating White keeper Ryan Lehet, but White had already run away with the game. Mercier would score his second late in the frame and Nolan Rideout would add a seventh goal in the third, beating Bain to make it a 7-2 White win.
Preseason
Flin Flon opened their preseason August 29 with the annual rookie game against division foes Nipawin, ending with a 4-0 victory for the Bombers.
Karol opened the scoring for the maroon and white and Joey Lies, Senft and Lorenzo Bono each added what proved to be insurance markers, giving Flin Flon its first win of the exhibition season. The Bombers will play in Prince Albert Wednesday night against Kindersley in their next exhibition outing.
