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.
LA RONGE - Ten minutes of solid play was all the La Ronge Ice Wolves needed to steal another victory from the Flin Flon Bombers for 4-2 win Wednesday night. For 50 minutes the Bombers gave the Ice Wolves minimal scoring chances, but the face of the game changed at the 7:35 of the third period when Evan Vossen scored the first of three unanswered goals as he broke in from the left side and managed to beat rookie goalie Calvin Bartel. After outshooting the Ice Wolves 19-9 after two periods, the Ice Wolves took the play and outshot the Bombers 10-6. While the inability to clear the puck didn't hurt the Bombers, individual mistakes did. After having such a solid start in which Richard Dupre scored the opening goal on the power-play, Bombers coach-GM Doug Stokes was very upset following the game. "I hate the giveaway games," Stokes said, after the team bus arrived in Flin Flon. "I thought that was a carbon copy of the other game (versus La Ronge). We were dominant for 50 minutes." Stokes feels that himself and the coaching staff need to address certain individuals to simplify their game. "They worked hard and competed. It was not a team break down," Stokes explained. "It was glaring individual errors." Between the pipes, Bartel didn't have a terrible game, but the netminder allowed four goals on 19 shots and Stokes felt he played "okay." Stokes felt those are tough games for goalies to play in since the defence didn't allow many opportunities and a goalie is then forced to make a play while cold. Bartel accepted part of the blame as he felt he was at fault for making mental mistakes with his teammates. "Just not having my head in the game after two easy periods," said Bartel, who likes to face more shots. In what was a fast paced game, it was the goaltending of rookie William Pollock, who made his debut, that gave the Ice Wolves their opportunity to win the game as he came up with several key saves. Defenceman David Holinaty had given the Bombers the lead again 4:37 into the third when he scored on a shot from the point. Immediately following the goal, Chad Sinclair instigated a fight with Shaun McNaulty, which proved to be a mistake by Sinclair, who got pummeled by the Bomber rookie. While both incidents provided extra jump for the Bombers, it didn't result in a goal. Instead, that's when the tide turned and the game favoured the Ice Wolves. With the loss, the Bombers fall to 1-4 while the Ice Wolves are now 4-1. Bombers captain Blake Rolston said that the team needs to play with a lead and build from it. "It's tough to protect a one goal lead with 12 minutes to play," he said. "I thought we outplayed them most of the game, and they outplayed us in the third." The Bombers now head to Saskatoon for the Saskatoon Showcase in which they play the Weyburn Red Wings and Estevan Bruins.
