Courtesy of Braden Malsbury, MBC Radio News
For the second straight night, the Flin Flon Bombers were victorious over the La Ronge Ice Wolves.
The Ice Wolves dropped a 4-1 decision to the Bombers on Saturday evening at the Mel Hegland Uniplex in La Ronge’s home opener.
“I thought we played a really strong game, I thought the (Kyle) Ford line did a great job of shutting down (Donavan) Houle’s line until we are on the power play and we turn the puck over to the wrong guy — and he goes in and buries it,” said Ice Wolves Head Coach and GM Kevin Kaminski.
“Then we do the same thing in the third period, same guy turned the puck over again and then next thing you know, it’s in our net. The third goal is a bad bounce, fourth goal – it was a nice play by them. I think we did a lot of good things tonight, we showed a lot of character, but I thought we still had too many passengers.”
After a scoreless opening frame, the Ice Wolves opened the scoring 10:18 into the second when Kyle Ford beat Jacob Delorme on a partial breakaway shorthanded. Flin Flon tied the game at one 16:46 into the second when Donavan Houle picked the puck up after a turnover and beat Steven Bacovsky on a partial breakaway.
Cole Rafuse would score twice for Flin Flon in the third, while Alex Malo added the fourth marker, as the Bombers swept the Ice Wolves in the home-and-home series to open the campaign.
“The work ethic is getting there, but it’s not 100 per cent yet,” said Ice Wolves Head Coach and GM Kevin Kaminski. “I thought our track pressure was much better tonight. We did a lot of good things, the only thing is, we found a way to lose. Same as last year for these guys, they find ways to lose. That’s what we got to turn around, that’s the difference in attitude. The whole mentality is to find ways to win day in and day out.”
The Ice Wolves will now get set to take on the Melfort Mustangs on Tuesday at the Mel Hegland Uniplex. The puck is slated to drop at 7:30 p.m.
Following Tuesday’s game, the Ice Wolves welcome the Nipawin Hawks to town Friday evening.
(PHOTO: The Ice Wolves hosted the Bombers Saturday. Photo courtesy of James Young.)