The Flin Flon Bombers improved to 4-1-1 in the preseason after beating the Swan Valley Stampeders 5-2.
Simon Hofley made 22 saves to earn the win for the Bombers last Friday, Sept. 12 in the final tune-up before the regular season.
Tyson Empey continued to lead offensively, scoring twice for the Bombers. Parker Evans-Campbell, Chris Raukman and newcomer Michael Knaub also had goals for Flin Flon.
Knaub joined the team earlier in the week, coming from the Meville Millionaires in exchange for Dalton Menke, who was part of the Brett Boehme deal last season.
“We had a good game Friday,” said head coach Mike Reagan. “We had a slow start again, which concerns me. It seems to be a carryover from last year, and we need to fix that problem. Once we got rolling we played the way I expected us to.”
It was a physical game, especially in the third period after big hits by Dean Allison and Evan Akkerman.
“We were very physical, with over 50 hits,” said Reagan. “I really like the way we played and how we finished a lot of our checks. The guys were fired up after the game. We’re happy with our exhibition results. I think it’s important for confidence that we did well.”
The Bombers also learned last week that Dustin Perillat will be rejoining the team. Perillat was re-assigned to Flin Flon by the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL, giving the Bombers a sixth veteran defenceman to start the season.
A season kick-off party will be held tomorrow at Pioneer Square from 4-6 pm. The Bombers will host the Hawks on Friday before travelling to Nipawin on Saturday to finish off a busy opening weekend.
