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Bombers tie Nipawin to end road trip

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 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 concluded their three-game road trip with a game in Nipawin on Tuesday night, and managed to salvage a tie despite the fact that they were severely short-staffed and outplayed. The Bombers dressed only 17 skaters, including call-up Dilan Hubbick, who saw his first regular season action. Of those 17, Donald Milburn was ejected in the first minute of the game and others did not see much ice time due to injuries. Derek Blais left the game early with a cracked foot, and Derek Gallagher did not play after the first period. Still, when your best player on the ice is your goaltender, you are going to have a chance to win the game. Paul Reimer had another sensational outing, rebounding from Sunday's start when he was chased from the net after Yorkton's fourth goal. Reimer faced 51 shots in Nipawin, compared to the 23 the Bombers mustered against Dan Bauer in the Hawks' net. Nipawin out shot Flin Flon 22-4 in the first period, but only managed to score once. Barrett Zelinski netted a short handed goal at 18:22. In the second period, the Bombers were out shot 14-5, but miraculously scored twice to take a 2-1 lead heading into the third period. Andrew Skrabek potted his eighth goal of the season at 12:05 from Kyle Holmes, and three minutes later Brennen Giroux scored his first goal, assisted by Holmes and Tyler Stinton. Patrick Carriere tied the game for Nipawin at 7:26 of the third period. Joey Moggach equaled Skrabek's total of eight goals at 8:19, with assists going to rookies Eric Knutson and Quinn McIntosh. Nipawin continued their attack, and Carriere scored the tying goal at 17:53. Nipawin out shot Flin Flon 14-9 in the third period, but the Bombers pressured in overtime, managing five shots to Nipawin's two. In the game, Flin Flon was held scoreless on five power play chances, and Nipawin failed to score on nine tries with the man advantage. "I thought for what we had in our lineup and the number of guys left on the bench after the first period, we played pretty well," said coach Ryan Hoffman. "The guys sucked it up. They played really hard to battle for that point." Hoffman will see his first action behind the bench this weekend, as the Bombers have completed their first ten games. Brad Snyder leaves the bench with a respectable 2-3-5 record, good for nine points and a share of third spot in the SJHL's Dodge Conference. The Bombers have made a couple of moves over the past few days. They sent 19 year-old forward Kyle Shroder to the Dauphin Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League for future considerations on the weekend. Injured utility man Joel Jackson was also released. The Bombers have recruited some much-needed help on the blueline. Mike Stevens, an 18 year-old St. John's Newfoundland product, played against coach Hoffman and the Yorkton Harvest at the Air Canada Cup last season. Hoffman had a chance to see him play twice with the St. John's Maple Leafs Midget 'AAA' team, and spent a good chunk of the summer talking to him and his family about the possibility of playing in Flin Flon. Stevens had a tryout in the Quebec Major Junior League, but after an early injury in camp, he decided that Flin Flon was the better option for him. Stevens is 5'11, 170 lbs, that Hoffman describes as a "very talented, puck-moving defenceman." He met the team in Regina on the weekend, and will skate with the team for the first time today. The Bombers will host the Melville Millionaires this weekend for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday. Many players are still day-to-day, and it is not known how many will return for the weekend series. Stewart Sjoberg, Derek Gallagher and Simon McCusker are all questionable, and enforcer Kevin Burwell will miss both games as he sits out the second and third games of his four-game suspension. One player who will not be in the lineup is Derek Blais, who is expected to be out for up to six weeks with a cracked foot. The rest of the guys will be reevaluated before Friday.

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