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.
Unlike the saying easy come, easy go, the Bombers worked hard for their second place victory in the Itech Conference. After defeating the Battlefords North Stars last Wednesday, the Bombers moved into second place, bumping the Melfort Mustangs into third. With the two teams swapping places, the Mustangs were in town Friday to see what could be done about the new standings. As it happened, the Bombers were pushed back into third place with a 3-1 loss to the visitors. Although the home team came out with a loss, head coach and GM Mike Reagan said it was a Ògood hockey game.Ó As Reagan watched from the bench, he says the game was like Òplay-off hockey.Ó ÒBoth teams competed and I thought it was a pretty entertaining game,Ó says Reagan. He says the goalies were on their game as well. ÒBoth played well,Ó he says. ÒIÕm sure (Matt) Weninger would like the second goal back, but (he) played...really well.Ó As the season goes on, the scores of the games get tighter and tighter. A team that the Bombers might have scored on five times in the beginning of the season are now only seeing maybe two or three goals against them. Reagan says it all comes with the progression of the season. As the year goes on, he says teamÕs defense gets better, as do their goalies. ÒCome play-off,Ó he says, Òeverything you get is through hard work.Ó Teams are now at the mid-season point, and Reagan says Òthings could be better.Ó ÒAre we happy sitting in third?Ó he asks. ÒNo. ÒWe think we are the second best team in the conference, but there are still a few mental mistakes.Ó With that said, Reagan says the team will Òget themÓ and make up for the mistakes made. Looking at the Bombers last season, they were in a fairly similar situation as they fought between third and fourth place. But the team was able to pick up the pace after Christmas and Òreally turned it onÓ in mid-January, according to Reagan. He hopes for the same thing this year. But the coach notes that the team is banged up and injured. ÒWe are getting tired of getting banged up,Ó he says, Òbut thatÕs part of the game.Ó For the Bombers, as with any team, the key is to get healthy and get key players back in the line-up. After the Bombers faced the Mustangs Friday, the two teams prepared for a drive to Melfort for a game Saturday night Ð where the Bombers came out on top 4-1. After FridayÕs game, Reagan said he knew the Mustangs were going to be hungry the next night, but so would the Maroon and White. ÒThey came and stole two points and now we have to,Ó he says. ÒThey have won one in our barn and we have won one in their barn.Ó It was going to be a battle for not only second place in the Itech Conference, but also bragging rights. The following is a summary of FridayÕs game between the Bombers and Mustangs at the Whitney Forum: It was a scoreless first period as the Maroon and White faced off against the visitors in front of 750 fans. Both teams tried their luck, but couldnÕt get past the goalies. Weninger stood guard of the mesh for the Bombers as he turned away 10 shots from the Mustangs while Flin Flon tried to get past David Tetrault 12 times. With goose eggs on both ends of the scoreboard, the Mustangs were first to break the shutout and earn the first goal of the game Ð just after the before the four-minute mark. From there, the team was able to get past Weninger with another show, making it 2-0 10 minutes later. As the score was set for the rest of the second period, the Bombers were anxious to get going and get one into the mesh. On a power play, near the eight-minute mark, Tommy Castonguay accepted a pass from Josh Garneau and Michael Young for the goal. The score sat at 2-1, but the Bombers couldnÕt get to the net for a second goal before the Mustangs scored their third, an unassisted goal.
