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.
LA RONGE- The La Ronge Ice Wolves crashed the net and were rewarded for it against the Flin Flon Bombers. The Ice Wolves celebrated quickly on Dillon Henningson's controversial 3-2 game-winner with seven-and-a-half minutes remaining where they appeared to interfere with Bombers goalie Zane Kalemba. Bombers rookie defenseman Keelan Cook didn't get a good look at the play, but knows the Ice Wolves player came down on his goalie. "What I think is a cheap play by their guy," he says. "I think we kind of got outplayed in the third period. I think we could have done better, but I do think that their third goal was a bad goal and they didn't deserve it." Kalemba was more displeased with the way referee Keith McIntosh officiated the game. "I think he should be consistent with his calling," explains Kalemba in the lobby of the Whitney Forum after arriving from La Ronge. "If he's going to call it all game, then he should call it that way at the end of the game, too. He kind of put his whistle away the last five minutes." That play capped off a period in which the Ice Wolves outplayed the Bombers by outshooting them 21-5. "I think we got outworked in the third period a little bit," Kalemba says. "They're giving up too many shots, 20 shots a period for first and the third, you can't be doing that game in and game out and expect to win." During the second period, the Bombers outshot their opponent 16-11 and outscored them 1-0 to even the score 2-2. In the end, Kalemba faced 51 shots and saved 48, while former Bomber goalie, Michael Pilote, faced 30 shots, pushing 28 aside. As well as Kalemba played, interim coach/GM Brad Snyder wasn't that satisfied. "I thought Zane didn't have one of his stronger games," explains Snyder shortly after the loss. "He's played better, but I don't think Zane can be faulted for the loss. I mean we only score two goals and give up that many shots." Snyder was unimpressed with the way his team came out in the third after playing a good first two periods. "I was a little disappointed with the shots on net," Snyder explained. "I think it was 21 to seven, something like that. That's definitely not what we have to do to win games, we have to play a lot stronger. I thought our forwards didn't play well at all - all four lines." Snyder was able to find a positive in that he felt his defense played well, despite giving up 51 shots. "No, I thought our defense actually didn't play a bad game," he says. "I think the defense were doing what they could do, but you got wingers that are blowing the zone before puck will even touch the stick. We've got guys looping inside and outside the blueline, it's just not good for the team defensively for defensive play and it's costing us shots on net." Distributing the puck well helped eliminate the small mental mistakes that have burdened the team. One of the more glaring ones was in the third period when an Ice Wolves player managed to get around Evan Smith, but the Bombers defenseman didn't give up on the play and lifted the players stick, causing him to lose the puck. Offensively, the Bombers received it from an unlikely source Ð their power-play. Bradyn McCullough earned his first goal of the season on a shot from the point, while Blake Rolston opened the second period by popping in his fourth goal of the season, and second on the power-play, in the goal-mouth. The Bombers will now prepare themselves for a three game road trip that begins in Battlefords' on Nov. 18 then finishes in Kindersley on Nov. 19 and 20. Their next home game isn't until Nov. 25 and 26 against the Estevan Bruins and Melville Millionaires.
