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 suffered a tough loss on Tuesday night, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Nipawin Hawks. Cole McLean was the player of the game for the Bombers, scoring their only goal and coming close on two other chances. He was also involved in a fight in the third period. The line of McLean, Carter Chomyn and Mackenzie Groenewegen were the most consistent line for the Bombers, as Flin Flon had trouble maintaining any sort of attack in the Nipawin zone. McLean's goal was the first of the night, coming at 7:37 of the first period when he banged home a loose puck to the left of the net. Chomyn and Groenewegen picked up the assists. The lead was short lived as the Hawks tied the game at 9:17. Ryan Cruse scored from Jared Spencer and Cody Purves. The same three players combined for the winning goal at 10:44 of the second period. This time it was Spencer getting the goal with Purves and Cruse assisting. Dustin Hildebrandt of the Hawks added a third goal before the end of the period, with Kyle Nichols assisting. Shots on net in the second period were 15-8 for the Hawks. In the third period, Nipawin's Josh Belair scored the only goal on a power play at 6:51, sliding the puck through Francois Laverdiere's legs after walking in from the corner all alone. Kevin Lavallee and Patrick Carriere assisted. Frustrations began to show in the third period as fights started to break out. Bradey Fidierchuk, Carter Chomyn, Clayton Geiger and Cole McLean all received fighting majors for the Bombers. Final shots on net were 34-30 in favour of the Hawks, although the Bombers led the third period 12-8. Nipawin was 1/4 on the power play, while the Bombers went 0/5. The Bombers will hit the road for two games before the Christmas break. They will be in Nipawin on Friday before finishing up the 2004 portion of the schedule with a game in Melfort on Saturday. Flin Flon trails Melfort by 12 points for the final playoff spot in the ITECH Conference. The Bombers will start 2005 with a three game road trip, and return to the Whitney Forum for their next home game on January 11.
