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 lost their sixth exhibition game in a row on Tuesday night, falling 6-4 to the La Ronge Ice Wolves. It was the first win for La Ronge, who lost their four previous starts, including the opening game to the Flin Flon Bombers in the rookie contest on September 1. La Ronge struck twice in the first period before the Bombers came to life in the second period. TJ Schneider opened the scoring at 1:07, and Braden Olszewski scored at 12:53 to make it 2-0. Flin Flon's Derek Blais started off the second period with an unassisted goal just 10 seconds after the opening face-off. Blais netted his second power-play goal of the period at 14:23, with Kyle Schroder and Jeff Lapointe assisting. Joey Moggach gave the Flin Flon fans a taste of his potential with an unassisted goal at 16:35 to give the Bombers a 3-2 lead. A rookie mistake cost the Bombers dearly to end the second period, as Kyle Gladue capitalized on a turnover at the blue line to score unassisted at 17:32. Kirby Markowsky restored the lead for La Ronge at 7:06 of the third period, and Jordan Zurowski scored from Kyle Gladue at 15:21 to put the Wolves ahead by two goals. With time winding down, the Bombers were handed a gift from the referee in the form of a five-minute power-play, when Derek Blais was jumped from behind. Conrad Wilgenbusch scored on the ensuing power play with 1:26 left in regulation time to bring the Bombers within a goal. With 20 seconds remaining, Gladue put the puck into the empty net to make the final score 6-4 for La Ronge. With the outcome of the game already decided, fans started chanting "McCombie, McCombie", begging for their hometown hero. They got what they wanted as Curtis McCombie stepped on the ice for yet another tilt. Goaltender Paul Reimer had a better game between the pipes for Flin Flon, stopping a penalty shot in the first period to keep the Bombers in the game. Reimer made 28 saves on 33 shots. Curtis Soetaert allowed three goals on 28 shots for La Ronge, and Kraig Kurzynski made 13 of 14 saves in the third period. Flin Flon's special teams continue to be a bright spot, as they scored three power-play goals on 10 chances, while keeping the Ice Wolves to zero goals on 11 tries with the man advantage. The Bombers were in Swan River last night to take on the MJHL's Stampeders. Results were unavailable at press time. In other SJHL action on Tuesday night, the Nipawin Hawks improved to 3-2 with a 5-1 win over the Melfort Mustangs. Alex Cote had a two shorthanded goals for Nipawin, and added an assist. The Weyburn Red Wings handed the Notre Dame Hounds their first loss by a score of 3-1, and the Estevan Bruins were dumped by the Portage Terriers 4-1. Cliff Ketchen had three goals for the Terriers, and Andrew Jackman had three assists.
