It’s not yet spring, but Flin Flon’s hockey pride was in full bloom this past weekend.
The Bombers played in front of a vibrant announced crowd of 1,749 fans at the Whitney Forum on Friday, Jan. 29 – also known as Hockey Night in the North.
Hudbay, the City of Flin Flon, Town of Creighton and Northern Village of Denare Beach teamed up to sponsor the game, meaning free admission for all.
Fans described the atmosphere in the arena as electric even as the Bombers fell 4-3 to the Viterra Division-leading Weyburn Red Wings. Flin Flon defeated La Ronge the following night.
“I think the celebration of Hockey Night in the North was awesome,” Bombers head coach and general manager Mike Reagan said. “To get that many people showing up for it was great for the community.”
Reagan said his team’s strong play in the third period Friday “showed the people what we are capable of.”
The Bombers got some momentum going thanks in part to the newly created line of Greyson Reitmeier, Rylee Zimmer and Jason Lavallee. Zimmer and Lavallee both scored in the third period.
Friday’s game started about 30 minutes late as the referees were delayed behind an accident scene on Highway 106 near Tyrrell Lake.
RCMP said the single-vehicle rollover saw one person, the male driver from Creighton, sustain minor injuries for which he was treated and released.
Traffic was held up for about an hour, police said, with the vehicle towed and the scene cleared by about 7:30 pm, which was supposed to be when the puck dropped.
The following night, Saturday, Jan. 30, the Bombers redeemed themselves to post a 3-2 OT win over Sherwood Division rival La Ronge Ice Wolves.
“We were down 2-1 and we were to come back, tie it and win in overtime,” Reagan said. “The way that we won was big for our confidence.”
Alex Smith had the tying goal. The winning marker was a nice goal by Joel Kocur that had the announced crowd of 515 fans erupt with pride.
“He has great breakaway speed and he is one of the best skaters in the league,” Reagan said of Kocur. “For him to score his 30th goal the way he did was big for our hockey club.”
