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The Flin Flon Bombers hosted the Nipawin Hawks Saturday night at the Whitney Forum to try and keep their spot in the standings. With a 4-1 win over the Hawks, the Bombers sat in third place Saturday night. With one more win the Bombers should be able to regain their spot in a tie for second place. Being the top scorer in the SJHL league is no small accomplishment and Reid MacLeod attributes his success to the help of his linemates Dennis Kubat and Pierre-Luc Boucher. "I'd like to say I had a lot to do with it, but I've just got really great teammates," says the 18-year-old forward. With 22 goals so far this season, MacLeod says "it's nice to be up there." Coach Mike Reagan says he agrees with MacLeod and adds "everybody compliments each other." "I'm proud," says Reagan, "but most importantly, they are contributing as a team to win." Saturday night's game saw a few new faces on the ice, as the Bombers picked up a few players for the game. Barrett Penner, from the Battlefords North Stars, was traded to the Bombers for Shawn McNulty and Kirk Moore, as well as a list player. Penner, a left-winger, will "add some much toughness as well as play-off experience," says Reagan in the Coaches Comments section of Saturday night's game program. "We feel that Barrett will be a fan favourite and provide even more depth to our top two lines." Along with Penner came Scott Day from the North Stars. Coaches Comments for Day say "we get a big body that will play well along the wall and provide energy to our third line." The final new player for the Bombers is David Dysktra, from the Nipawin Hawks, who is "a player that our scouting staff had liked for some time now and feel will add a nice mixture of youth and skill to your roster," says Reagan. The whistle blew and the puck dropped in front of 912 fans at the Whitney Forum Saturday night as the Bombers took on the Hawks. The period started off slow as far as goals were concerned, but one they started they really got going. The Bombers scored the first goal of the night after 7:39 of play with Pierre-Luc Boucher putting the puck in the net unassisted. With the score 1-0, the Hawks came out and scored their first and only goal of the night against Calvin Bartel. The Hawks swished the mesh at 8:41, tying the game a one a piece. With that said, Bomber Dennis Kubat came out scoring the teams second goal, giving them a 2-1 lead over the Hawks. Kubat's goal was assisted by Boucher and MacLeod at a time of 11:14 into the first period. Less than one minute later, Bomber Dustyn Clegg scored the third goal of the Bombers, assisted by Day and Cole Wilson. With the score now 3-1 after 12:11, the scoring in the first period was over. Bartel stopped eight of his nine shots on goal, while the home team got three of their 17 shots past Hawk goalie Antoine Desrosiers. The second period was scoreless for both teams, but the Bombers and the Hawks had some shots on goal. Bartel saved all six shots coming his way in the period, as did the Hawks netminder, stopping all seven shots. With a 2 goal lead, the Bombers took to the ice for the third period and scored the final goal of the game after 5:17 into the period. Newcomer Barrett Penner put the final shot past the Hawks goalie giving the team a 4-1 victory over the Hawks. Penner's goal was assisted by Tommy Castonguay and David Linsley. The Maroon and White had a total of 36 shots during the game, while the Hawks had 28. According to Reagan, the Bombers "dominated the first period. We capitalized on the opportunities. "The Hawks goal was a fluke, but we had all the momentum of the game and we were able to rebound off that." The second period, which was scoreless for both teams, didn't have either team playing their best, says Reagan. There were a couple of good chances, says Reagan, but nothing came out of it. MacLeod says the team put in "a good solid effort" during the game. "We rolled four lines and it was good all around," says the forward. With the team coming in and scoring two goals in less than a minute, MacLeod says "it gives us a boost as players... and it gives us a momentum shift." The Bombers took on the Humboldt Broncos last night and will be back at the Whitney Forum Saturday night to take on the Yorkton Terriers.
