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.
The Flin Flin Bombers had their fair share of opportunities Friday night. The team handed off 44 shots on the Notre Dame Hounds to win 4-3 in a shootout. It was down to the wire for the Maroon and White as they fired off shot after shot in the third period to try and break Russell Abbott of the Hounds. It was a scoreless period, however, for both teams as PJ Musico kept the puck out of the net as well. The Bombers and Hounds went into a shootout Ð leaving the fate of the game up to three shooters each. The Hounds got past Musico on the first shot, but it was quickly answered back by Flin Flon's Corey Tyrell. Notre Dame couldn't make it past Musico as he stopped Ajay Moore's puck. Andrew Johnson went on to win the game as the Hounds' third shot was denied by Musico. The last time the Bombers and Hounds faced off, in Notre Dame, it was a slow start. Heading into Friday's game, Bomber head coach and GM Mike Reagan said he was expecting a good game. "I knew that it was going to be a good game. They've got a lot of returning players so they're going to be a competitive team, for sure," said Reagan. But the returning Hounds couldn't tame the Bombers as they earned the two points Friday night Ð giving them a total of 15 for the season. "I was expecting a solid effort," said the coach. With a week of practice, the Bombers spent time on their power play and D zone coverage. "I mean, it paid off. For the first time (this season) we outshot a team 44-29. "I'm very happy with giving up 29 shots," he said. The coach said giving up less than 30 shots in a game, which is a goal for the team, is a "step in the right direction." "I'm very happy with the way things turned out," he said. The Bombers put on an exciting show Friday night and the nearly 800 fans were excited about it. "We had some good opportunities," Reagan said. "Our power play struggled, statistically, but we generated a lot of opportunities." Reagan gave credit to Abbott, the Hounds' goalie, for his work in the third period, as he turned away 11 shots from the Bombers. See 'Strong' on pg. Continued from pg. During the power plays, Reagan gave him credit for being a strong goalie for the Hounds Ð even during Flin Flon's five-on-three. Looking to the stands, the coach said the fans couldn't have asked for a better game. "I thought we competed hard. That's the closest we've come to playing a full 60 minutes. I'd say we played 55 minutes tonight," said Reagan. Friday night's line up was mainly veteran players, but Reagan says he was impressed with the effort of the rookies. "I think Dylan MacNab had two or three opportunities (and) Dillan McCombie played one heck of a game again." Looking at the team as a whole, the coach says they need to work on the defensive side of the game. "If we can do that, we're going to win some hockey games," he said. "We score enough goals and we've got good goaltenders that are going to come up with big saves for us. "It's just a matter of us limiting (the other team's) scoring opportunities, which we did tonight," he said. The Bombers will spend the rest of this week practicing and preparing for their road trip to see the Melville Millionaires for a pair of games this weekend. "Right now, it's a good stretch for us to get some quality practice time in," Reagan said after Friday's game. The Bombers hope to be healthy sooner rather than later. Since the start of the season, the Maroon and White haven't had a full roster. Whether players are out for injuries, suspensions or other reasons, Reagan says it's a "frustrating" way to play the season. "It's really tough to see where the team is at," he said. Reagan says maybe if Devan Stillar, who is out on suspension, was in the game Friday night the Bombers might not have had to go into overtime. "He's a big player," Reagan said. Though the Bombers got Corey Tyrell back for the weekend game, Reagan says he is looking forward to a full roster. Heading ito the games against Melville, Reagan says he suspects the line up will be much the same as it was for Friday.
