This week is a busy one for the Flin Flon Bombers both on and off the ice. The team will play three games in four nights, starting with a road game in Melfort against the Mustangs tonight.
They will return home for a pair of games this weekend. Friday’s game will feature a rematch from last year’s playoff battle against the Estevan Bruins, and on Saturday the Humboldt Broncos will be in town.
Off the ice, head coach Mike Reagan will be travelling to Drumheller, Alberta, to watch the Dragons play twice. He will then be selecting a player to finish up the future considerations part of the Devin Buffalo trade from last season.
That will mean Reagan will be missing Wednesday’s game in Melfort, but will return home for the games on the weekend.
“It’s hard as a coach,” said Reagan. “I really want to be there. We’ve got to look at what’s best for the team for the entire season, and this is a very important pick for us. Unfortunately I’m going to miss the Melfort game, so that’s going to be a good test for us.”
Assistant coach Garry Childerhose will take over the coaching duties for the game, joined by head scout Jon Klassen.
“It will be a good experience,” said Childerhose, who will be taking over the reins after just two games as an assistant coach.
Childerhose spent his Junior career playing for the Mustangs, so Wednesday’s game will be a sort of homecoming for him. “I’m sure there will be a couple people giving me a hard time there, but I’m really looking forward to the opportunity and I’m excited for the game.”
Childerhose ran the practices solo on Monday and Tuesday. “Guys are excited and working hard,” he said. “We’ve had a couple good practices working on our D-zone, and the guys will be ready to go.”
Early in the year, special teams can make or break a team. Five on five and on the power play, the Bombers looked good against the Hawks last weekend, but couldn’t keep Nipawin from scoring when the Hawks had the extra attacker on the ice.
“It’s going to be a work in progress I think,” said Reagan of the penalty kill. “We’d like to create a little more offence off of the five on five, but in saying that, Nipawin’s goaltender was very good over the weekend, and we hit quite a few posts. An inch the other way and we’ve scored three or four more goals and we’d be sitting 2-0 instead of 1-0-1.”
On Wednesday, the Bombers will battle against a Melfort Mustangs team that split their opening weekend series against the La Ronge Ice Wolves. They will have to deal with Adam Fauchoux, who has scored three of Melfort’s five goals so far this season.
The Estevan Bruins dropped both of their opening weekend games at the hands of the Melville Millionaires, and the Humboldt Broncos are also winless, losing both of their games to the Notre Dame Hounds.
