It’s not clear if any of the Flin Flon Bombers are big fans of Willie Nelson, but “On the Road Again” does seem to be their theme song as of late.
The Bombers are in the midst of a stretch in which eight of nine games are played away from the Whitney Forum. Three of the Bombers’ four games this week are on the road. Last week they split their four-game southern road swing.
“We have been fighting and clawing and scratching and doing whatever we can do to turn our season around,” Flin Flon head coach and general manager Mike Reagan said.
The pair of road victories improved Flin Flon’s record to 5-9-0-3. The Bombers won the first and third games of the road trip.
Reagan, a former Flin Flon player, could not recall a Bombers team going 4-0 on a road trip, but he said his team gave itself a chance to be 3-1.
He said the team played probably its best game of the trip in a 3-1 loss to Weyburn in the fourth game.
“The road trip was big for our hockey club,” Reagan said. “Even though we lost [Saturday night], the guys felt really good and so do I.”
In addition to playing on the road, the Bombers have faced injury woes. The team has been without six regular players, including four defencemen. Reagan praised the team’s young players for stepping up.
Tonight, Wednesday, the Bombers host the Melfort Mustangs, who have the SJHL’s top winning percentage and a 13-2-1-1 record, before hitting the road for three more games this week.
The team plays in Melfort tomorrow, Thursday. The Bombers take on Humboldt on Friday and then Kindersley on Saturday.
On Nov. 17, the squad is in Nipawin before returning to Flin Flon for two games against Battlefords, Nov. 20 and 21.
“Having success on the road is not easy, especially with the road schedule we have,” Bombers captain Tyson Empey said. “We have the longest road trips, so it is important to make sure you have a good warm-up before the game.”
At home, players usually have a tried and true routine. Empey said it is tough to have routines on the road because players are not eating or arriving at the rink at the same time every game.
However, he noted he likes to get a one- to two-hour nap on the bus and that the team goes through the same off ice warm-up to get their legs going after a long bus ride.
The Bombers started the trip by ending a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 shootout victory over Humboldt.
Six-foot-5 forward Michael Knaub ended the shootout in the 12th round by using his long reach to slide the puck in. Brenden Newton recorded 36 saves and kept 11 of the Broncos’ 12 shooters from scoring. Reagan said it was a big win for the squad and set the tone for the trip.
The road trip provided an opportunity for bonding for the Bombers, who lost 5-2 to Notre Dame in Wilcox.
“Being in a hotel for five days allows everyone to get to know everyone even better than they did before,” forward Alex Smith said. “Also a day off in Regina on a long road trip like that allows everyone to go to the mall and just relax for the day and have some fun together.”
The Bombers started the weekend with a 5-2 victory over Estevan. Smith scored four times, including an empty-net marker on a power play at the end of the game.
“You don’t have a night like that without the help of your teammates,” Smith said. “It’s one of those things – once you get a couple to go in, the bounces start going your way and you get some puck luck.”
Reagan said Smith looked like a different player with his confidence in the last couple games of the trip compared to the past few weeks.
Smith and Brandon Switzer are now tied for the team lead with 16 points in 17 games. Joel Kocur leads the Bombers with nine goals, while Smith now has eight.
