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 Flin Flon Bombers enter the Christmas break tied with La Ronge for fifth spot in the Dodge Conference, after taking three out of four possible points on the weekend. Four third-period goals on Friday allowed Flin Flon to rally from behind and tie the game at 4-4 in La Ronge, and the Bombers dominated the play on Saturday night and finished 2003 with a 4-1 victory over the Ice Wolves. On Friday, after a scoreless first period, La Ronge took control in the second period with a goal from Donovan Hall just nine seconds into the frame. Jeff Marshall scored his 23rd of the season for the Wolves on a power play at 14:08 to make it 2-0, and Craig Macfie put La Ronge ahead 3-0 at 15:31. The Bombers woke up in the third period after Anatoliy Moshkovsky scored on a power play at 1:12 from Simon McCusker and Joey Moggach. Derek Blais brought the Bombers within one goal at 2:11, with assists going to Derek Gallagher and Kyle Holmes. Kyle Gladue made it 4-2 for La Ronge at 5:42, but the Bombers battled hard and tallied two more times before the period was over. Joey Moggach scored his 11th of the season at 11:37 from Derek Gallagher and Jeff LaPointe, and Stewart Sjoberg's unassisted goal at 16:43 tied the game for Flin Flon, sending it into overtime. Tempers flared in the extra period, and a couple of scraps broke out. Goaltender Kraig Kuczynski skated the length of the ice to challenge Paul Reimer, and Anatoliy Moshkovsky went with Scott Odelien. Nothing was decided in overtime, making it the third time this season that the two teams have skated to a draw against each other. The Bombers out shot the Wolves 42-35, including 18-9 in the third period. The Bombers scored one power-play goal on 12 tries, while the Ice Wolves scored once on seven chances. Saturday night's game was a chippy affair, but the referee let them play, forcing the players to battle for every inch of open ice. Stewart Sjoberg scored the first goal of the game at 13:12, assisted by newcomer Bob Graham. Doug Exner tied the game for La Ronge at 14:35, but Anatoliy Moshkovsky put the Bombers ahead for good with his fourth goal of the season just seconds later. He scored a power-play goal at 14:52 from Joey Moggach and Derek Gallagher. Flin Flon out shot La Ronge 11-9 in the first period, but slowed down in the second, as the Ice Wolves out shot the Bombers 12-6 in the middle frame. Troy Ciernia came up big and kept the Wolves at bay, and the Bombers regained the momentum with an early goal in the third period from Moshkovsky, his second of the game at 1:40 from Joey Moggach and Jeff LaPointe. The Ice Wolves pulled their goaltender with a minute to go in the game. See 'Goal' P.# Con't from P.# With 20 seconds left, Kyle Holmes sent the puck into the empty net from center ice, scoring his first goal of the season. Stewart Sjoberg and Derek Blais assisted. Troy Ciernia stopped 28 shots for the win, improving the Bombers to 8-15-9-2. Flin Flon scored two power-play goals on five chances, while the Ice Wolves were held scoreless on two tries. The Bombers are now three points behind the Nipawin Hawks for the final playoff spot in the Dodge Conference. As luck would have it, Flin Flon will start the new year with a home-and-home series against the Hawks, starting January 2 in Nipawin.
