Brenden Newton certainly did not look like a rookie making his first SJHL playoff start.
Newton recorded 30 saves as the Flin Flon Bombers shut out the Weyburn Red Wings 1-0 last Saturday, March 19 to bring their quarterfinal series to the Whitney Forum tied at one win apiece.
“In his first start, spectacular,” said Bombers head coach Mike Reagan. “You can’t write a better script for him.”
Newton, a Medicine Hat, Alberta product who
turned 19 in February, was quick to credit his teammates.
“My teammates were the reason I was able to have success in Saturday’s game,” he said. “They played a great game in front of me. I felt they dominated the game five-on-five and only gave them most of their chances while we were shorthanded – even then they did an amazing job blocking shots.”
The win turned a best-of-seven into a best-of-five, as the Bombers lost Game 1 by a score of 4-1 on Friday, March 18. Games 1 and 2 were in Weyburn. Game 3 was scheduled for Flin Flon last night, Tuesday, after The Reminder went to press.
Getting the split on the road was important for the Bombers.
“As the home team, there is a lot of pressure on you to win those games,” Reagan said. “Now we hold home-ice advantage. … We know we are in for a battle. This is not going to be an easy series.”
Game 2’s victory demonstrated the game plan the Bombers hope to follow.
“We can’t expect to score a lot of goals,” Reagan said of playing the Red Wings and SJHL Goalie of the Year Jack Burgart. “We have to win playing tight defence and capitalizing on our opportunities.”
Heading into games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and tonight, Wednesday, Bombers forward Greyson Reitmeier was enthused.
“I’m really excited for the atmosphere that’s going to be in the Whitney Forum,” said Reitmeier. “It’ll be my first playoff game here in Flin Flon, and I can’t wait to see how much noise our fans are going to make.”
The series moves back down south for Game 5 in Weyburn this Saturday, March 26. If necessary, Game 6 would be in Flin Flon on Monday, March 28 with Game 7 in Weyburn on Wednesday, March 30.
If the first two games were any indication, it is going to be quite the series.
“I think it was one of the best games I’ve been a part of as a coach and maybe as a player,” Reagan said of Game 2. “It is only Game 2 and the intensity was unbelievable.”
He said you would have thought it was an SJHL finals game because of the intensity. A contingent of Flin Flon fans that headed south loudly cheered on their Bombers, the coach said.
Goaltending and defence were key in games 1 and 2. Burgart made 68 saves on the opening weekend of the series.
When asked how you beat a netminder like Burgart, Reagan said: “A lot of traffic and getting a lot of pucks to the net, which we’ve done.”
The Bombers counter with what they feel is a dynamic duo in Newton and Zac Robidoux, who helped the Portage Terriers to a national Junior A championship last season.
Reagan emphasized the squad believes it has two great goaltenders.
On Friday night, Weyburn took a 3-0 lead – all on goals that Reagan felt were not the fault of Robidoux, who started.
The Bombers went to Newton “just to change things up,” said Reagan, who emphasized that the 5-foot-10 Newton and 6-foot-3 Robidoux play different styles. The Red Wings managed to score once on Newton, who had 24 saves.
“We probably had seven minutes of bad hockey that cost us the game, but that’s playoff hockey,” Reagan said. “As long as you [rebound] from it, that’s the biggest thing.”
The Bombers certainly did that with their Game 2 victory. Reagan said he felt that in Game 1, his team learned the difference between regular season and playoff hockey.
Newton said that playing on Friday definitely helped prepare him for Saturday.
“It got out any of the nerves I had about playing in my first SJHL playoffs and allowed me to play my game the next night,” said Newton, who stopped 54 of the 55 shots he faced across both games.
In the second period on Saturday, Flin Flon had a goal disallowed. Reagan said that motivated the club.
“Sometimes the adversity that you go through is the best thing that can happen to you,” he said.
SJHL Player of the Year Alex Smith scored Game 2’s lone goal, in the third period. He put home a backdoor pass, with linemates Brandon Switzer and Joel Kocur earning assists.
The Bombers held the Red Wings to just four shots in the final period to seal the victory.
About 783 kilometres separate Weyburn and Flin Flon. As such, players must find ways to adapt to the travel and not let it bother them.
Bombers defenceman Pierre-Luc Morin said the team travels the day before the game so it doesn’t interfere with his pregame routine.
Morin had Flin Flon’s lone goal on Friday, his first in a Bombers uniform.
The Reminder will continue to follow the Bombers’ playoff run in print and on our website at
www.thereminder.ca. Like “Flin Flon Reminder” on Facebook to receive breaking news updates.
