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.
Sept. 15 was marked on the calendar for both Larry Wintoneak and Ryne McKinnon. That was the day they returned to Flin Flon with the Kindersley Klippers, and both looked forward to facing the Bombers. In a previous story, McKinnon said "it would be nice to get some revenge," as he never got the chance to play for Bombers. For Wintoneak, the former Bomber coach, it was about making a return to a place he coached. "There's the connection here with me being here for that many years," Wintoneak said prior to last Friday night's game. "My kids are still here. The sad part is we're in the south division (Sherwood Conference) so we don't come up to the north as much as I'd like to, but the All-Star Game is here so that's another opportunity to get here during the winter time anyway." The Klippers arrived early that day to be well prepared for the game, but it also gave both men a chance to visit family. "It is business and when you get those chances, those days off, you take advantage of them and do what you have to do to see your kids and to just relax and enjoy life," said Wintoneak. Speaking of business, Wintoneak was asked how he felt about that game. "A lot of people have asked me that question," he replied. "I'm not nervous by any means. I think I was more nervous when I came the first time. Just the unknown, how I was going to be approached and stuff." Before their game against the Bombers, the Klippers were 1-1-1. "Tonight we understand what we're coming into here," he said. "They're 0-3 and they're going to play some desperate hockey and I know Stoksey (Bomber coach Doug Stokes) wasn't too happy with their performance the last couple of games. I know that they had that 3-1 lead against La Ronge and let that slip by too. Maybe we're coming in at the wrong time." That statement turned out true for Wintoneak as his team lost 5-1. While Stokes didn't feel his team played as well as in an earlier loss, they received solid play from rookie goalie Calvin Bartel and the line of Dennis Kubat, Reid MacLeod, and Pierre-Luc Boucher, which led the way offensively for the Bombers with two goals and several chances. Wintoneak said he wanted to see his team match the Bombers' intensity. "Technically speaking we have to be disciplined in our forecheck, we can't get out of position," he said. McKinnon wasn't able to get revenge as a penalty killer, as the Klippers didn't score shorthanded, but he did dish out a few hits. "It was nice to come back and play in front of the home crowd, but we didn't get the win so it didn't go as planned," said McKinnon, while icing down his hand. "I didn't feel like I played the greatest." While Wintoneak and McKinnon didn't get the win they were seeking, they have another chance on Dec. 13, the last time they visit the Whitney Forum this season.
