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.
To say that the opening weekend for the Flin Flon Bombers was disappointing would be a giant understatement. I'm sure that the players are just as frustrated as the fans. Having said that, losing two games in a row is no reason to push the panic button just yet. In the newly named ITECH Conference, the Bombers are one of three teams who went 0-2 on the weekend, as both the Melfort Mustangs and Battlefords' North Stars were slow out of the gates and failed to win a game. Under the new playoff format, five out of the six teams in the Conference will make the playoffs, so at least two out of these three teams are guaranteed to make the post season. For the Bombers, the solution is a simple one ? the players on the ice will have to perform better, or better players will have to be brought in. Head coach Ryan Hoffman expects to make some player changes by the end of the week. "We had a good practice on Monday, probably the best since camp opened up," said coach Ryan Hoffman. "The weekend maybe gave us a little better read on a few players, and we will continue to try and make some changes accordingly. Some of our more experienced guys have to be a little better and play like vets. Our back end struggled, especially Friday night. We need to have more poise on the blueline." After storming out to a 2-0 lead on Friday, the Bombers couldn't keep it together. They looked less and less like a team as the game wore on, and couldn't mount much of an attack during five-on-five play. On Saturday night, the Bombers drew first blood with their fourth power-play goal of the weekend, but got into penalty trouble in the second period and never recovered. "We were disappointed with a few things on the weekend," said Hoffman. "Our discipline wasn't good, and that caught up to us in La Ronge on Saturday night. We have to play a lot harder, and be more authoritative in what we do. I thought we were hesitant at both ends of the ice, not aggressive enough." The lone bright spot on the weekend was special teams. The Bombers scored four power-play goals on 14 chances, good for 28.6% efficiency. La Ronge was good on only two of 16 chances, at 12.5%, although they did score a big goal while short handed on Friday night. Even strength, the Bombers were outscored 8-0, a statistic that will have to change if they hope to have any success this season. Despite the outcome of both games, everyone will agree that Andrew Skrabek was the best player on the ice Friday, and the veteran had another strong outing on Saturday. This weekend, the Bombers will need out the entire team to step up and answer the call, as they will be in Saskatoon for the September Showcase Tournament. They will face the Weyburn Red Wings on Friday evening, the Estevan Bruins on Saturday evening, and finish with an afternoon outing against the Melville Millionaires on Sunday. Although these are neutral site games, the Bombers have been preparing for them as if they were road games, which is essentially what they are. See 'Three' P.# Con't from P.# "We're on the road playing three in three nights all the time," said Hoffman. "This is just another road weekend for us. We are going to have our work cut out for us in the first two games for sure. Estevan and Weyburn are expected to be the two top teams in the south. We will have to be better than we were on the weekend." Next home action for the Bombers is October 1, when the Estevan Bruins make their lone appearance at the Whitney Forum this season.
