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.
Good teams never lose two in a row. It's something that has been said time and time again by Flin Flon Bombers head coach and GM Mike Reagan. But his team couldn't live up to the motto in their second game of 2010 as they lost 4-2 to the Battlefords North Stars Wednesday night. A disappointed Reagan said afterwards that his team would have a day of practice they wouldn't soon forget. He had told his team during the second intermission that if they didn't show up in the third period, the next day's practice was not going to be pretty. Even though the Bombers ended up being the better team in the third period, the Maroon and White were unable to get past the North Stars for the win. Going into the Christmas break, the Bombers were on a three-game winning streak, but that ended last Saturday with a loss to Notre Dame. Then Wednesday had the North Stars in charge. "As far as tonight," Reagan said after the game, "I thought we didn't compete in the first two periods (like) we needed to. "It's unacceptable to lose games at home, especially like this," he added. "You know, we always say good teams don't lose two in a row. "That's the first time we've done that (in regulation time) this year and right now, we're not playing like a good team." Reagan was hoping a long, hard, practice on Thursday would get the guys back into the right frame of mind. He was hoping they would get the work ethic from the practice needed to compete like they know they can. "Tomorrow will be a day that the boys won't soon forget," he said Wednesday. "We've got to get back to the basics and get back to what got us here." The North Stars started the scoring off in the first period Wednesday with an early goal against Klynt Spencer. Five minutes later, Brody Haygarth was able to tie the game, with help from captain Michael Young and Mathieu Lecours. But the tie didn't last too long as the North Stars earned their second goal of the game just before the end of the first period. Starting the second period, the North Stars were still the dominant team as they slipped two more goals past Spencer, one on a power play. Spencer then hit the bench as Matt Weninger stepped in to guard the net. The North Stars were unable to beat Weninger for the remainder of the game, giving the Bombers a chance to catch up. Following the second intermission, Lecours found the back of the net with help from Taylor Thiessen and Young, to make it 4-2 for the North Stars, but that was as close as Flin Flon would get. Following Thursday's practice, the Bombers have a few days off before hitting the road for Melville for Tuesday's game against the Millionaires. "Hopefully we get back on track and we get refocused," Reagan said. "Right now, I think we believe we are untouchable. "We have gotten a little complacent and have forgot the basic things that have got us to this point." Going back to the basics for the Bombers is going to mean working on their work ethic, working hard and a commitment to playing the systems, Reagan said. For Tuesday, the bench boss hopes the team "competes a lot harder." "And that we get back to outworking teams," he said. Final words after Wednesday's game conveyed Reagan's high hopes for the team. "We promise to get this thing back on track," he said. Following the game, the Bomber still led the Bauer Conference with 55 points, while the North Stars were in third with 46 points. The Weyburn Red Wings continue to lead the SJHL with 58 points while the Notre Dame Hounds are quickly rising as third in the league with 52 points.
