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.
After a promising effort on Friday night, the Flin Flon Bombers followed up with a stinker on Saturday. They were two must-win games for the Bombers, who entered the weekend trailing their opponent by nine points for the final playoff spot in the SJHL's ITECH Conference. Instead of winning both games, the Bombers split, but allowed the North Stars to pick up three points as Flin Flon's 3-2 win on Friday night came in overtime. On Friday night, the Bombers played good enough to win, getting solid goaltending from Francois Laverdiere and key goals when they needed them. Flin Flon never trailed in the game, although there were some scary moments when Laverdiere had to bail out his defencemen. After a scoreless first period of play, Stewart Sjoberg scored his first of the night at 7:01 of the second frame, with Clayton Geiger and Joey Moggach assisting. In the third period, a weak defensive effort allowed Jeff Blaquiere to tie the game for the North Stars at 7:08. Tyler Beachell's goal at 13:31 restored Flin Flon's one-goal lead. Rylan Zakreski and Clayton Geiger picked up the assists on the goal. Less than a minute later, Michael George picked up a rebound from a Fraser Allan point shot and backhanded it around Laverdiere to tie the game and send it into overtime. Desperate for a win, the Bombers dominated the overtime period. After catching the North Stars scrambling in their own end, Stewart Sjoberg rifled a shot into a wide-open net to give the Bombers their third win of the season. Rylan Zakreski and Richard Dupre assisted on the goal, that came at 3:18 of the extra stanza. The North Stars out shot the Bombers 31-27, but Francois Laverdiere was the best player on the ice, keeping the Bombers in the game. At the other end of the ice, Guillaume Miszczak also played a good game, but his one mistake in overtime cost his team the game. Flin Flon failed to score a goal on four power play chances, and kept Battleford scoreless on five chances. Which brings us to Saturday night's game ? a game that everyone in attendance, from the fans to the players, would surely like to forget. If Friday's overtime win gave the Flin Flon faithful a spark of hope, Saturday's follow-up has no doubt snuffed it out, as the Bombers lost 8-1. It was the ninth time this season that the Bombers allowed five or more goals, and the eighth time that they failed to score more than one goal. In fact, the Bombers have been outscored 86-36 on the season, a very telling statistic, as they have the lowest goals for and most goals against in the entire SJHL. Not surprisingly, they also have the least amount of wins, and are in danger of setting a team record for fewest wins in a season and least points. Currently, the team record for fewest wins is 10, set in 2001-02 and repeated the following year. The record for fewest points is 27, set in the Bombers' second year in the SJHL (1985-86) and repeated the following year. Right now, the Bombers are on pace for nine wins and 23 points in the 55 games they will play this year, although they have been playing better hockey (but inconsistently) over the last ten games. Saturday night, to say the least, was hard to watch. Two very different teams hit the ice for the second game. At the south end, the North Stars were a very confident bunch, playing in front of the league's top netminder in Dustin MacDonald. A select few Bombers played well, but the majority did not, playing in front of a nervous Dale Pettit, who was making his first SJHL start in net for Flin Flon. Pettit allowed four goals in 27 minutes, before being replaced by Francois Laverdiere, who allowed four goals in 13 minutes. Pettit returned to start the third period and played sensational in the final frame, stopping all 19 shots he faced. The North Stars scored twice in the first period, getting goals from Brett Jullion and Riley Lang at 6:01 and 13:15 respectively. Lang's goal came on the power play during a five-on-three advantage. The Bombers were out shot 13-7 in the first period but were still in the game. In the second period, shots were 24-10 in favour of the North Stars, and after 40 minutes of play the score was 8-0. Jared Keller scored at 4:19 and a goal from Mitch Woods at 7:17 chased Pettit from the net. It didn't take the Stars long to get to Laverdiere, as Michael George scored on a power play at 10:40 to make it 5-0. Shane Cusak found the back of the net at 13:58 and Jesse Matlock scored at 17:53. Darryl Lambert became the eighth Battleford player to score at 18:57, picking up a short-handed goal. The Bombers finally came to life in the third period and battled hard until the final buzzer. Unfortunately, many of the 950 fans had seen enough and left after the second period. Flin Flon's Cole McLean got nailed for spearing at 2:19, and poor Mitch Woods drew the short straw, standing up for his teammate to take on McLean, who was eager to drop the gloves. I lost count at 12 right-hands to the face of Woods. Mike McKinna gave the Bombers the only goal of the third period, breaking MacDonald's bid for a shut out at 10:20. Andrew Skrabek and Tyler Beachell assisted on the goal, which was McKinna's fourth of the season, and third goal in three games. Shots on net in the third period were 19-9 in favour of the Stars, but Pettit put on a show for the fans who stuck around to watch, making some nice saves to allow his team to win the third period. Final shots on net were 56-26, and the North Stars scored two power-play goals on eight chances, and also scored short handed. Flin Flon failed to score on seven chances. On a side note, Kyle Holmes did not play this weekend and has apparently left the team, and neither Stewart Sjoberg nor Francois Laverdiere returned to the ice after the second period of Saturday's game. Next action for Flin Flon is tomorrow night, when the Bombers host the Nipawin Hawks for the first time this season.
