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 Flon Bombers didn't get the home sweep they sought when hosting the Estevan Bruins and Weyburn Red Wings over the weekend. Instead, the opposition swept them aside and left the Bombers with a 7-10-0 record and a two-game losing skid. The Bombers lost 5-2 to the Bruins and 6-3 to the Red Wings as they struggled to create offence. Following the loss to the Red Wings, Bombers coach-GM Doug Stokes jokingly said he "can't wait for the next road trip" after being asked his thoughts on the game. His wish will be granted as the Bombers play in Humboldt today, then in Battlefords for back-to-back meetings on Friday and Saturday, and ending in Kindersley on Oct. 29. Things didn't start well for the Bombers as the Red Wings were able to keep jabbing away at goalie Calvin Bartel, who attempted to hold the puck for the whistle but was scored on 34 seconds in. "The rule is when you lose sight of the puck, you're supposed to blow the puck down and he (Bartel) had it right under his trapper and (Preston Shupe) continued to poke until it poked through," Stokes said. The Bombers coach felt his team's play against Weyburn was sporadic. "Were we as good as we could be? Probably not," he said. "Were we horrible? No. The shots and the chances I think were somewhat in our favour (32-27). At crucial times it seems like when we make mistakes, it ends up in our net and they got a couple of breaks and bounces." Stokes wasn't impressed with the officiating and felt that some calls resulted in goals. "There was an icing call late in the period that was a non-icing," Stokes said. "We looked at it on the tape and the guy was two feet over the red line when he dumped it and they called it icing. We lose the draw and they score right from the point on the lost faceoff." The Red Wings were outshot by the Bombers, but gave them few quality chances. Fans witnessed what happens when the Kuboum line of Dennis Kubat, Pierre-Luc Boucher, and Reid MacLeod are shut down Ð the rest follows suit. The Bombers struggled more so against the Red Wings than the Bruins to create offence. A positive sign is that Braden Olszewski has ended his scoring slump. He netted his fourth goal of the season in the second and has a four-game point streak that includes three goals and five points. Defenceman Bradey Fidierchuk also scored his fourth during a penalty kill when he let loose a wrist shot that beat Jason Lindner high on his blocker side from the blueline. Bombers rookie defenceman Brett Harvey felt the team came out slow and didn't have much jump. "I thought in the third period we picked it up a bit, but it was just too little, too late," Harvey said. "Ran out of time basically and they got some lucky bounces." Goalie Calvin Bartel, who played for the first time since defeating Estevan 5-2 in Saskatoon after receiving treatments on his groin injury, had two difficult outings. He allowed 11 goals on 58 shots. Stokes said he felt Bartel's performance was average. "Why would you expect anything different?" Stokes asked. "He hasn't played in a month. One thing about goaltenders Ð more than any other player Ð to get in rhythm, you got to be on the ice and facing pucks everyday." During Friday's game, the Bruins' Dillon Johnstone beat him while streaking in from the left side, bringing Bartel with him, then shot the opposite way in the opening minute of the third for his second goal of the game, giving his team a 4-2 lead. Kyle Garagan then scored midway through the third to seal the win after Olszewski had a breakaway chance, but missed the net. Both Bartel and the Bombers will have a chance to get their games on track away from Bomber fans as they won't play their next home game until Halloween against the Humboldt Broncos.
