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.
HUMBOLDT Ð Mike Nichol, the six-foot-one Flin Flon Bomber goalie, stood tall between the pipes as the Bombers defeated the Broncos 4-3 on Sunday night. Nichol made 27 stops on 30 shots and had to be excellent in the first period as the Bombers took seven penalties. Nichol said it felt good to get his first Bomber win as he felt he played well. "You can always be better," Nichol said. "When you win, I'm happy with that." The only goal Nichol would have liked back was by Tyler Feakes, who beat him between his blocker and body. "It was a weird one," Nichol said. "I thought I had it." Fortunately for him and the team, the Bombers found their scoring touch again with four compared to their deficiency during Friday's 2-1 home loss against Melville. MacKenzie Groenewegen netted the winner after he accepted a Mike McKinna feed while killing a penalty. He forced his way past Blair Wourms to beat Nathan Heinen on his glove side and silence the fans at Elgar Petersen Arena. The shorthanded marker was Groenewegen's first of the season. The Bombers equalled the game in the first when Tommy Castonguay took a pass from Braden Olszewski, who set up the Quebec native at the side of the net. The second Bomber goal was scored by Reid MacLeod, who leaped by the defenceman, shot the puck and then buried his own rebound. As of Monday, MacLeod led the team in goals with four. While the Bombers were outshot 13-9 in the opening period, their play picked up as officials called more infractions. In the last two periods, the Bombers outshot their division-leading foes 24-17. "I thought it was a pretty good game," said coach-GM Doug Stokes. "I thought the PK did pretty good and I thought our goaltending was very good. Mike was solid." Nichol's play has been so good that defenceman Bradyn McCullough called it "unreal." "It's nice to have a guy you can count on," McCullough said, after the team got off the bus at the Whitney Forum. Nichol made his debut on Friday night against the Melville Millionaires following the trade for Matt Hill. Nichol, who made 19 saves on 21 shots, finished on the wrong end of a goalie battle as Anthony Heuer stopped 37 of 38 shots. The Bombers simply couldn't bury their chances. In the final period, the Bombers outshot the Millionaires 16-1 and had six consecutive power plays. "We generated enough offence to win," Stokes said after the Millionaires game. "We had quality chances and didn't (expletive) bury the puck." As the Bombers dominated the third period, they had their fans out of their seats in disbelief as they were denied chance after chance. MacLeod shook his head in disbelief after one of his shifts as he headed for the bench. "It's frustrating getting five to six chances a game and you can't score," he said. With the victory against Humboldt, the Bombers were 3-6. The Bombers wrap up a three-game home stand against Notre Dame and Humboldt on Friday and Saturday after playing Yorkton yesterday.
