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.
Two mistakes cost the Flin Flon Bombers in their 4-3 loss against the La Ronge Ice Wolves at the Whitney Forum on Tuesday night. The first mistake came when defenceman James Pasternak was unable to hold the puck at the offensive blueline, which led to 2-on-1 goal. The second came when goalie Eric Potvin decided to leave his crease and play the puck despite a defenceman entering the play. Even though the Bombers are now 0-3 to start the season, fans watched a good performance by the home team that had a 3-1 lead half way through the second. "I thought we played extremely well," said Doug Stokes, the Bombers coach-GM. "We made a couple of poor choices in game management with the puck that cost us some opportunities and they capitalized on them. I thought we totally dominated the hockey game." See 'Bombers' P.# Con't from P.# Potvin, who was acquired from the Weyburn Red Wings, had a good start. His biggest blemish in the game was when he decided to imitate former NHL goalie Arturs Irbe and handle the puck. He faced just five shots in the first and then 10 in the second. Both he and Stokes felt he could have been better. "The save percentage Ð four goals on 15 shots has got to be better," Stokes explained. "It's (goaltending) hurt us dramatically in these three games and I thought the real back breaker was the one where he decided to come out and play the puck and ended up turning it over. Other than that, I didn't think he had a lot of work." Offensively for the Bombers, defenceman Myles Masse opened the scoring eight minutes into the game with a shot low on goalie Jonathan Jobin. The other two goal scorers were rookie Reid MacLeod, who notched his first SJHL goal, and veteran Blake Rolston, who was set up by Braden Olszewski. MacLeod said it felt good to get his first goal, just not under the circumstances. "It's never a good way to get it in a losing cause," he said. "It's nice to get it off the shoulders. I'd be happier with a win. We need to get that first one. We played good tonight, just a few costly mistakes." In the third period the Bombers were all over the Ice Wolves, who didn't have a shot on net in the first 6:30 of play. While the Bombers were putting constant pressure on the Ice Wolves during their power play, the fans were all over referee Ryan Lundquist, who was making questionable calls and missing others. See 'Bomber' P.# Con't from P.# When the game was done, Stokes was exchanging words with the official on how he called the game. When asked about the officiating, Stokes simply said "next question." While the Bombers sputtering offense continues to pressure opponents in recent games, the defence is proving to be solid in keeping shot totals down. The Ice Wolves managed 21 in their victory while the Melfort Mustangs had 12 shots after two periods and 26 in an 8-0 win on Saturday. The Bombers are also showing signs of playing more disciplined. Against the Ice Wolves, they took three penalties in the first and 16 for the game.
