The warmer temperatures brought out more skiers and week number three of the Koop Geotechnical Ski Series was a big success.

Here are the categories and winners for the week.

Participation Event-Male-Paulo Strappazzon-25.00 certificate from Kick It.

Participation Event-Female-Michelle Reitlo-25.00 certificate from Ped’s Threads.

Fastest skier-Male-Duane Davis-18:44-20.00 certificate from Mugsy’s.

Fastest skier-Female-Cindy Lee-28:16-20.00 certificate from Baba’s Bulk Bin.

Week number 4 is actually underway and is a 2.2 open technique on the Centoba trail. Start and finish at the Chalet and go clockwise around the course. 

Don't forget to e-mail your name and times to bigisland5959@gmail.com for this week's prizes by 10pm this Saturday.

Once again a big thanks to Koop Geotechnical for sponsoring the event and a big thank you to all the trail groomers for working hard on the trails.

The Laronge Ice Wolves played some great hockey and took 4 points off the Flin Flon Bombers this past weekend.

Friday started well for the Maroon and White who quickly built a 2-0 lead in the first period.

Cole Tanchuk fooled Wolf starting goalie Dawson Smith with a fluky bounce that made it into the back of the net on the first shot of the game.

Jaxon Martens then converted a nice pass from Gabriel Shipper to go up 2 zip.

The Wolves fought back and Jacob  Visintini got his team on the board late in the first.

Aaron Greyeyes caught fire for Laronge and got the only goal in the second to make it 2-2 after 2.

It looked like Flin Flon might sneak one out when Jacob  Vockler scored his 9th less than 2 minutes into the final period.

The Wolves kept pressing and Tye Evans would tie the game on the pp. OT was needed and once again Aaron Greyeyes was the difference maker converting a great feed from Evans.

Evans was able to take the puck down the ice with a couple of Bombers draped all over him and find Greyeyes in front of the net.

This was Greyeyes third OT winner against the Bombers in his career.

The Laronge win would snap the Bombers 7 game winning streak and they were clearly the team that wanted it more Friday night.

Saturday, the Bombers made their way to Laronge and played better but could only muster one puck past Xavier Cannon who was fantastik in stopping 41 shots as the Wolves downed the Bombers 4 to 1.

This was Cannon's first start in 3 weeks and he looked like his usual dominant self.

Brett Wieschorster was the only Bomber to beat him when he broke to the net early in the third period to score his 6th on the PP.

Laronge got  their goals from Visintini, Christianson, Knights and Couture.

It was a bad night of bounces with the Bombers actually scoring two goals into their own net.

Give Laronge credit,  they are a very hungry team right now and have won 10 of their last 13 games.

After the weekend sweep the Wolves are 20-19-1-2 and have moved up to 7th overall and trail the 6th place Yorkton Terriers by 2 points.

Flin Flon is 27-11-1-1 and are once again tied with the Melfort Mustangs for first in the Sherwood and third overall.

This is a huge week for the Bombers who continue to play lots of hockey and will hit the road for 4 in 5 starting tomorrow in Yorkton.

This could be a possible first round playoff preview.

You can catch all the action on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com with Mike Stackhouse providing the play by play for all 4 games including Wednesday in Notre Dame, Friday In Estevan and Saturday in Weyburn.

The Flin Flon Bombers will put their 7 game winning streak on the line when they host the Laronge Ice Wolves in a home and home this weekend.

The Bombers are fresh off a 4-0 win in Kindersley on Tuesday where they out shot their opponent 52-22, after a 9 hour bus ride.

Flin Flon is showing no sign of fatigue after playing 5 games in 7 days as they try to make up the games that were postponed due to Covid.

The Bombers have leap frogged Melfort for top spot in the division at 27-10-0-1 and lead the Mustangs by 3 points with 4 games in hand. The Maroon and White also have their sights set on Estevan for second overall.

The Bruins are 7 points in front of the Bombers, with Flin Flon having 2 games in hand.

Laronge is playing some good hockey and have won 7 of their last 10 games as they continue to jockey for playoff positioning. They are 7th overall and trail 6th place Yorkton by just 4 points.

Flin Flon leads the season series 5 to 1 but you can never take Laronge for granted, who play a very agressive physical in your face type of hockey.

The Wolves have faced the Bombers with their number one goalie Xavier Cannon just twice in the 6 meetings with Cannon battling injuries and recently Covid.

Word is that he will be back between the pipes tonight and the Wolves play so much better when he starts games. They are 12-6 when he starts and are 6-13-1 when he doesn't.

It should be a playoff atmosphere again tonight with the last few games ending with lots of scrums and the Wolves trying to play an intimidation game with lots of extra stuff after the whistle.

The good news continues for the Bombers off the ice as goaltender Cal Schell has committed to Oswego State and will suit up for the NCAA Divsion 3 Lakers for 2022-23.

Schell is having a career season where he is second in the league with wins at 20 and continues to shine with a 2.43 gaa and a save % of .921 with 4 shut-outs.

Don't forget to catch both broadcasts this weekend including tonight's from the Whitney Forum with the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:10.

Noah Olivier was one of the most dominant players in the history of the Northern Saskatchewan Football league and Creighton Kodiak Football Program.

Olivier will get a chance to carry on with his career and dream. He was selected to the Saskatchewan Selects,  which is a team put together of the province's best high school football players.

After the Kodiaks were eliminated from the Provincial Playdowns, Olivier and his team mate Carson Straile headed down to a try-out in Moose Jaw in November.

The team will play the best players from other provinces and will even play some games against US clubs.

They actually play American rules with 11 players on the field and 4 downs.

Olivier who starred on both sides of the ball will play Nickel Linebacker.

Olivier plans to bring back everything he learns and share it with the Kodiak coach's and players returning next season. 

The Phantom Lake Soccer Club is working very hard to make sure that they can have a season this year.

They are hosting their AGM on Wednesday February the 16th 7pm at the Victoria Inn.  If you plan on attending they are asking that you pre-register because there will be a cap on attendance.

You can pre-register by going to vicepresidentplsc@gmail.com. There will be a google live feed for those that can't attend.

The agenda will include various reports, a financial statement, any questions and nominations for  board positions.

courtesy of bombers.ca

The Flin Flon Bombers are excited to announce the signing of Flin Flon product, Joey Lies for the 2022-23 season.

The 2005-born forward is currently playing for the Rink Hockey Academy U18 Team in Winnipeg and has produced 21 points (9g, 12a) in 26 games.

“We are very excited that Joey has chosen to play with us if he is not in the WHL next season. We have become very familiar with Joey over the last couple of years. Because of his size, strength and commitment to the game, we feel he will be ready to play at this level. It’s great for the community to potentially add a local player.” – Bombers Head Coach & GM, Mike Reagan

Lies was drafted by the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos in the 7th round of the 2020 WHL Bantam Draft.

The Flin Flon Bombers would like to welcome Joey and his family to the organization.

It took just 7:52 seconds for the Flin Flon Bombers to decide last night's game in Kindersley as the Maroon and White Express blanked the home town Klippers 4-0.

Rylan Thiessen converted an early power play from Xavier Lapointe and Jaeden Mercier and the Bombers never looked back.

Other goal scorers were : Jaxon Martens his 13th, Brett Wieschorster his 5th and Jaeden Mercier who scored his 9th.

The long bus ride wasn't a factor as Flin Flon fired 52 shots at Matthew Pesenti to pick up their 7th straight win.

Another great performance from new comer Ben Montgomery who picked up his second straight win and stopped all 22 shots for his first career SJHL shut-out. 

The Bombers continue to roll along and got some help from Laronge last night who went into Melfort and beat the Mustangs 5 to 4.

Flin Flon leads Melfort by 3 points for top spot in the division and has 4 games in hand.

The Bombers have also closed the gap on Estevan and are only 4 points behind the Bruins for second overall and both teams have played 38 games.

Next up will be a home and home with Laronge this weekend, with the first game in Flin Flon Friday and the re-match in Laronge on Saturday.

Flin Flon leads the season series 5 to 1 but the Wolves are playing better hockey and are 7-3 in their last 10. Two of thise losses came to the Bombers.

I am sure it will feel like a playoff atmosphere and we will have both games on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com. The broadcast will start both nights with the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:10.

The Flin Flon Bombers are doing another fundraiser to help offset costs of running the hockey club.

For the second straight year they will be running their Player Raffle.

Tickets are only $10.00 and can be purchased by sending Cole Mccaig an e-transfer at mccaig_cole@hotmail.com. You can also call 204-573-1236.

Draws will take place on April the 10th, 6 pm at the Bomber store at 35  Main street.

Only 1500 tickets will be printed and there is over $25,000.00 in prizes.

The top 3 prizes include a Wings Over Kississing Fishing Trip, AJ'S Air Conditioning Unit and a Phantom Lake Golf Club Membership.

Complete list of prizes can be seen at Bombers.ca.

Congratulations to the Flin Flon Bombers Gabriel Shipper who has committed to play for the Bowdin College Polar  Bears who play in the NCAA Division 3.

The Polar Bears are located in Brunswick Maine and are members of the NESCAC Conference. The Polar Bears were back to back NESCAC Conference Champions in 2013 and 14.

Shipper is very excited about the opportunity. “My goal was always to play hockey and attend a school known for it’s rigorous education. Aside from being one of the best liberal arts schools in the country, I really felt a sense of belonging during my tour of Bowdoin. All aspects of the campus such as the athletic, academic, and housing facilities were incredible. I’m very excited for the opportunity and would like to thank everyone that has been a part of my journey.”

Shipper is one of the fastest and most exciting players in the SJHL and currently has 14 points including 5 goals.

Week number 2 of the Koop Geotechnical Ski Series wrapped up on Saturday with 10 people braving the elements and posting times last week.

Once again there were lots of great prizes that were handed out courtesy of  of local sponsors.

In the Participaction Event for males,  Kriss Lee won a gift certificate from Demb's Kick It and Laurie Shaw won a gift certificate from Ped's Threads in the Female Participaction.

Once again, Jamie Schmidt was the fastest male skier and won a gift certificate from Baba's Bulk Bin.

Cindy Lee was the fatest female skier and picked a gift certificate from the Orange Toad.

Week number three is now officially under way and will be a 4.3 km Open Technique on the Carlilse trail. Start and finish at Korotash  corner on the north end of the loop.

Good news, it is going to start warming up on Wednesday and we should see some more people out enjoying the trails and competing for prizes.

Don't forget to enter your name's and times to bigisland5959@gmail.com by this Saturday at 10pm.

Don't look now but the Flin Flon Bombers have won 6 games in a row after a hard fought weekend sweep of the Melfort Mustangs.

Flin Flon went into Melfort Friday and pulled out a 3 to 2 win in OT, courtesy of Rylan Thiessen who picked up his first ever SJHL goal.

It was a great drop pass from Gabriel Shipper who set up Thiessen at the top of the slot who then fired a perfect shot just under the cross bar on Joel Favreau.

The Bombers have had trouble winning in Melfort with just 3 wins at the Northern Lights Palace the last 5 years going into Friday's game.

That did carry over to Saturday and the Bombers were able to get the job done in another tight checking affair.

Xavier Lapointe and Gabriel Shipper gave the Bombers a 2-0 lead after the first period. Lapointe continues to lead all SJHL defensemen in points and goals with his 14th on the PP.

Nolan Doell would get the Mustangs back into it with a PP goal midway through the second period.

Jeremi Tremblay would restore the lead with a strange bounce which made it's way through a scrum in front of the net and fooled James Venne.

Venne protested with the officials that the puck never went in, but the referee called it a goal right away.

The Mustangs would add another pp goal late in the game from Carter Anderson, but that is as close as the Mustangs would get.

The Bombers hung on for the 3 to 2 win and picked up their 6th straight win in the process.

Flin Flon is finding ways to win tight games with 4 out of their last 5 all being decided by one goal.

Cal Schell continues to play well and was in net for both games on the weekend and picked up his 19th and 20th wins of the season. Schell continues to be in the top of most goalie categories including save % at .921

This was a big weekend sweep which allowed the Bombers to leap frog the Mustangs for first in the Sherwood at : 26-10-0-1 good for 53 points.

Flin Flon also has 4 games in hand with Melfort and has moved into third spot overall.

Next up,  will be a make up game in Kindersley which will be played tomorrow before another home and home with Laronge this weekend.

Our next broadcast will be Friday when the Bombers host the Ice Wolves at the Whitney Forum.

The Norman Northstars will get a good chance to snap their 4 game losing streak when they host the last place Kenora Thistles this weekend.

Kenora comes to Thompson with just 2 wins on the season and dropped both games to the Northstars in their own rink back in November.

Games are set to go Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 1:30.

Don't forget anyone 12 and over attending the weekend's games must show proof of vaccination and masks must be worn at all times.

The Bombers only needed to score two goals to pick up their fourth straight win last night against the Laronge Ice Wolves at the Whitney Forum.

Flin Flon playing their first home game in 2022 and their first home game in over a month,  were led by newly acquired Ben Montgomery making his SJHL debut.

Montgomery was picked up in a deal with Cowichan Valley back on January the 10th and made 28 saves and looked very good doing it in his Bomber debut.

He uses his big frame to a tee and likes to come out and challenge shooters and also looks like he has a pretty good glove hand.

The one glove save on Holden Knights in the second period was one of the best saves I have seen all season.

Not to be out done, Dawson Smith made his second straight start for the wolves in place of Xavier Cannon and was really good with a number of big saves on his own.

The goalies were the stories in last night's game.

As for the offense, the Bombers were led by Brett Wieschorster who picked up his fourth of the season when he raced to the net and jabbed in a rebound late in the first.

Drew Kuzma,  who is fitting in very well with his new team scored the winner on another rebound early in the second. This was Kuzma's 10th of the year but first as a Bomber.

I wasn't surprised, as he has been one of the best Bomber forwards the past couple of nights and was getting lots of chances everytime he was on the ice.

The Wolves got their lone goal from Walker Jerome who scored a nice wrap around goal late in the second.

No goals in the third and once again Laronge tried to rough the Bombers up especially late in the game. Flin Flon did a good job sticking up for themselves and played another solid game which led to their fourth straight victory.

The Bombers improve to 24-10-0-1 and did gain some ground on the Melfort Mustangs. Melfort lost to Estevan last night, so Flin Flon is just two points behind for the division lead with 4 games in hand.

These two teams will finally meet this weekend with a home and home for Friday and Saturday.

The Bombers will travel to Melfort tomorrow and host the Mustangs Saturday.

The season series is tied at 2 and both these games will be broadcast on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com.

We hit the air waves both nights with the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:10.

The Flin Flon Bombers were lethal on the powerplay last night and went a perfect 4 for 4 and knocked off Laronge 5 to 1 to secure their 23rd win of the season.

Jeremi Tremblay scored his team leading 15th of the season to open up the scoring just 4 minutes into the opening period.

Cole Vardy followed that up with his 8th and Jaeden Mercier collected his 7th as the Bombers went up 3 to 0 after 1.

Flin Flon never looked back and got another pp goal from newly appointed captain Zac Smith and an empty netter from Gabriel Shipper to seal the game with just over 2 minutes left in regulation.

Laronge gat their lone goal from defenseman Taylor Webb who scored his first as an Ice Wolf also on the pp.

Specialty teams were the difference with the Bombers going 4 for 4 and Laronge 1 for 2.

I thought the Wolves played well 5 on 5 and definately were the more physical team but also took some undiciplined penalties in the process.

Cal Schell stopped 31 shots and picked up his 18th win of the season while Dawson Smith suffered the loss giving up 4 goals on 34 shots.

Smith got the start in place of Xavier Cannon who is in Covid protocol and did play well making at least three highlight reel saves including one on Cole Duperreault late in the second period.

With last night's win the Bombers improve to 23-10-0-1 and have moved to within 4 points of the Sherwood Division leading Melfort Mustangs. Flin Flon also has 4 games in hand.

The Wolves will slip to 15-18-1-2 and are currently in the last playoff position at 8th overall.

The Bombers have taken 4 out of the 5 meetings and these two teams will play again tonight with the rematch at the Whitney Forum.

Covid protocols will be in place with only 250 fans being allowed in the building tonight in accordance with MB Health.

You will be able to listen to tonight's game here on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com with the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:10.

After 13 days between games the Flin Flon Bombers will finally get a chance to get back on the ice and play a game.

Flin Flon hasn't seen the ice since a hard fought 3 to 2 win in Nipawin on January the 4th.

After the game,  a number of  Bomber players test positive for Covid 19, so they had to postpone a bunch of their games and now will get the chance to make them up.

Matter of fact if you go back to the Chistmas break, Flion Flon has only played one game in the last 26 days.

That is about to change as the Bombers have a lot of ground to cover and have played the least amount of games in the league with 33.

Flin Flon will play 4 games in 5 nights starting with a home and home against Laronge tonight and tomorrow to make up the games from New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

New comers Ethan Antsey and Ben Montgomery who the Bombers picked up at the deadline will be in uniform tonight.

Antsey is a physical forward who competes hard and should be a good depth player as we inch closer to playoff time.

Montgomery is a big goalie from Dundas Ontario who will be counted on to relieve Cal Schell any time he needs a night off. The Bombers were in search of a goalie after Max Hildebrand was recalled to the WHL.

The Wolves are also a little rusty and haven't played a game since January the 7th when they beat Yorkton 4 to 2.

The season series is in the Bombers favour at 3 to 1 , but we know Laronge is tough especially in their own barn. The Wolves spanked the Bombers 7 to 2 in their last meeting at the Mel right before Christmas.

Flin Flon did rebound in the re-match the next night at the Whitney Forum and won 5 to 2. 

The Wolves will also have a bit of a different look as they picked up forward Parker Fofonoff from the Dauphin Kings in exchange for a pdf.

Fofonoff had 6 points in 30 games with Dauphin and also spent some time with the Melfort Mustangs.

The Wolves also added a d-man out of Alberta, Matt Smith who comes from the Calgary Canucks and has 3 points in 22 games. He is well travelled and spent some time in the WHL with Edmonton.

These two games will be huge in the standings with Flin Flon currently sitting at 22-10-0-1 good for 45 points. They are fourth overall and 6 points behind Melfort for first in the Sherwood.

The Bombers do have 5 games in hand.

Laronge continues to get better and are 7-3 in their last 10 and are 12 points behind Flin Flon with the Bombers having 2 games in hand.

If the Wolves could sweep these two games it would have a big effect on the standings.

No matter what go's down we will both games here on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com beginning with the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:10 and drop of the puck at 7:30.

The Werbicki Trucking Bantam A Bombers hosted the Pas Huskies in a pair of games this past weekend at the Sportex.

The Bombers took both games including a 3 to 0 win to open things up on Saturday.

Payton Pelletier, Maddox Dominey and Brody Grant scored the goals.

Flin Flon also won the second game 3 to 2 in a shoot out. Brayden Church and Jake Brown scored the shoot out goals.

Logan Genier was in goal for both wins.

If all go's well with Covid the Werbicki Trucking Bantam  A Bombers plan to go to a tournament in Swift Current the last weekend of January.

The Norman Northstars were looking like they might be able to halt their losing streak when they took on the Interlake Lightning yesterday.

The game looked like it was headed to OT, but the Lightning scored with just 20 seconds left in regulations to take the game 7 to 6.

Flin Flon's Nolan Rideout picked up his 2nd of the season and Magnus Pearson added an assist.

Norman's losing streak has hit 4 in a row and they have managed just 1 win in their last 14 games.

With the 4 to 1 loss to the Winnipeg Wild on Friday, Norman will fall to 9-22-4 on the season. They trail the Winnipeg Bruins by 6 points for the final playoff spot.

Next up will be the last place Kenora Thistles who come to Thompson for a pair of games this weekend.

Norman Regional Hockey will be holding try-outs for the 2022 Female Prospects this Saturday January the 22nd at the Whitney Forum.

This will be for Female first year U13, players born in 2010 and Female second year U-13, players born in 2009.

Registration is free and you can sign up on the flin flon minor hockey website.

Ice sessions are this Saturday at 1 and 3:30.

Week one of the Koop Geotechnical Ski Series is in the books.

This past week's feature trail was a classic technique event on the 2.3 km lit trail.

The first week saw 9 ladies and 5 men post times for 27 total km recorded.

Here are the winners:

Participaction Event Male- Gerry Clark- gift certificate Orange Toad

Participaction Event Female- Linda Clark- gift certificate Ped's Threads

Fastest Skier Male- Jamie Schmidt- gift certificate Dembo's Kick It

Fastest Skier Female- Mandy Patterson- gift certificate Mugsy's

Week 2 starts today and will be a 5km Open Technique on the race trail. Start and end at the bottom of the chalet.

Don't forget to send in your names and times to bigisland5959@gmail.com by this Saturday at 10pm to qualify for this week's prizes.

Due to Covid cases directly involving the club,  the Flin Flon Bombers were forced to postpone some games including this past weekend's road trip to Kindersley and Battleford.

The Bombers haven't played since January the 4th in Nipawin and released a schedule for some make up dates today.

Here is the revised schedule:

Tuesday Jan 18th at Laronge

Wednesday Jan 19th VS Laonge

Monday Jan 24th at Battleford

Tuesday  Jan 25th at Kindersley

Tuesday Feb 8th at Melfort

Monday March the 7th VS Melfort

The Norman Northstars who desperately need a win will hit the road starting tonight against the Winnipeg Wild.

Norman has just 1 win in their last 12 games and are starting to fade from the playoff picture.

Entering play this weekend the Northstars are 4 points behind 8th place Pembina Valley for the last playoff spot.

The Hawks do have 3 games in hand.

Norman will conclude the trip on Saturday in Interlake against the Lightning.

Congratulations to Flin Flon's Justin Lies on being named to the NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings.

Justin has been ranked at #175 for North American skaters.

Lies is born and raised in Flin Flon and played with Flin Flon Minor Hockey til he was 13 ,  before moving on to play with the Norman Wolves for two seasons picking up 63 points in 38 games. 

He would later attend the Rink Hockey Academy before making his debut for the Vancouver Giants in 2019.

Lies currently has 8 points 1n 19 games this season including 4 goals. He was sidelined earlier this year after picking up a hand injury.

Due to Covid protocols last year the Giants loaned Lies to the Bombers where he was able to suit up for 1 game for his home town team.

If you have been looking for something to do during Covid, to get you out of the house and a chance to get some exercise, there is  great news from the Flin Flon Ski Club.

The Koop Geotechnical Ski Series is back and is already under way for the new year.

This is a great way to get the whole family out to enjoy the facilities and a chance to ski regularly.

Each week a new event will start on Monday and end on Saturday where skiers will have a chance to post a time .

You can get all the information on the course and results by going to the ski club website and their facebook page.

There will be two different categories including participation and fastest time with lots of great prizes from local businesses and ski gear from Fresh Air Experience.

Don't forget to e-mail your times to bigisland5959@gmail.com by 10pm this Saturday.

The second event will start this Monday Jan 17th on a new trail.

The ski club reminds everyone to follow all Covid protocols when using the ski club facilities.

Another January trade deadline has come and gone and the Flin Flon Bombers did make a couple of trades to improve their hockey club.

The Bombers made a deal with the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the BCHL and picked up forward Ethan Antsey and goaltender Ben Montgomery in exchange for player development fees.

Antsey is from Yellowknife and does have lots of junior experience, having also played for Nanaimo and Fort McMurray.

He has three assists in 27 games this season.

It wasn't a big surprise that the Bombers went out and got a goalie,  after Max Hildebrand was picked up from the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL for the rest of the season.

Montgomery has over 30 games junior experience and like Cal Schell also calls Ontario home. Montgomery is from Dundas Ontario.

Montgomery suited up for 7 games this season with Cowichan Valley and posted a 4.13 GAA to go along with a .882 SAVE %.

The Bombers also cleared up a crowded blue line by moving Ethan McColm to the Calgary Canucks of the AJHL for a player development fee and future considerations.

Young d-man Noah Kuntz will stay home to attend the University of Regina and will suit up for the Regina Silver Foxes of the PJHL.

Congratulations to three year goalie Cal Schell on committing to the Oswego State Lakers of the Sunyac Conference of the NCAA.

This is a Division 3 program.

Schell has had a terrific season so far including 17 wins and a league leading 4 shut outs. He has a 2.54 GAA and a solid .917 Save %.

Schell says he is excited for the opportunity. “I chose Oswego because it truly is a winning culture. They’re in the mix every year and they hold very high standards. The facilities are amazing and I get to study a program that I really like.”

The Norman Northstars will finally get on the ice for the first time in 2022 when they face the Pembina Valley Hawks in a pair of games Saturday and Sunday.

Norman hasn't played in 17 days since they beat the Winnipeg Bruins in OT to close out 2021 on December the 19th.

This is a big weekend as these two teams are battling it out for 9th overall, with Pembina leading Norman by 1 point and 3 games in hand.

The Northstars have announced new protocol to attend home games in 2022.

The City Of Thompson will be checking vaccination cards upon entry and all individuals 12 and over must show proof of vaccination. You must wear a mask and sanitize when you enter. There will also be no beer gardens or canteen and no loitering in the halls.

Unfortunately due to Covid concerns the Kit Classic basketball tournament that was supposed to take place in Creighton this weekend has been cancelled.

The medical officer has deemed it unsafe for the Kodiaks to host a tournament at this time.

Creighton would look at possibly hosting this tournament at a later time.

The Kodiak B Boy's who were supposed to travel to Prince Albert for a tournament this weekend has also been cancelled.

Creighton School will continue to follow all the guidelines layed out by Saskatchewan Health.

The Flin Flon Bombers welcomed Jaeden Mercier back in the line up last night and the three year veteran was the difference as the Bombers pulled out a 3 to 2 win in Nipawin.

With the game tied at 2 entering the third, the Bombers were able to convert a powerplay just 44 seconds into the final frame.

Mercier took a pass from Rylan Thiessen and snapped a puck through the legs of Hawk goaltender Chase Hamm for the eventual game winner.

Mercier was in the line-up for the first time since October and didn't look out of place.

It was a strange game with the Bombers dominating the first period out shooting the Hawks 13 to 7. Nipawin didn't register a shot til the 15 minute mark and heard it from the few fans who decided to attend last night's game.

The Bombers did score twice in the first on goals from Cole Vardy (8) and Zac Smith his 12th.

Nipawin looked very disinterested and didn't compete very hard in the opening period and were lucky the deficit was only 2.

Saying that, they came out hard in the second and got rewarded with a couple of powerplay goals from Kye Whillans and Rylan Lefebvre.

The Bombers got back on track and dominated the third and out shot the Hawks 10 to 2 and got the eventual winner from Mercier.

It wasn't the prettiest of games but the Bombers got the two points and picked up their first win of 2022 to improve to 22-10-0-1.

Drew Kuzma made his Bomber debut last night as the club  finalized the deal with the Weyburn Red Wings just as the bus rolled into Nipawin. He looked good getting to the dirty areas and doesn't mind playing physical at all and is thrilled to be a Bomber.

Flin Flon now sits 4 points behind Melfort for the division lead and does have 3 games in hand.

Unfortunately, the head to head match-ups between the two clubs this weekend have been postponed due to Covid. So, no game here Friday and the Bombers will make up one of their games against Laronge on Saturday.

We will have Saturday's game from Laronge here on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com beginning with the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:15.

No word on when the games with Melfort will be made up, but we are expecting a decision soon.

The Flin Flon Bombers will hit the ice for the first time in 2022 as they head to Nipawin to face the Hawks at the Cage tonight.

The Bombers have not played a game in 15 days as their two New Years games against Laronge were potponed due to Covid protocols.

The Hawks did get on the ice for their New Years battles against Melfort and dropped both games by scores of 5 to 1 and 6 to 4.

Lots of news for the Bombers as they have lost goalie Max Hildebrand for the season as he was recalled by the Prince Albert Raiders.

Head Coach and GM, Mike Reagan says they are happy for Max and are looking for a new goalie and hope to have one in by next week. Reagan says they have a lot of irons in the fire and expect to get a deal done soon.

For the game tonight, the Bombers will call up Cody Wilson from Tisdale who has been practising with the team the last couple of days and did back up once earlier this season.

The Bombers were also expected to announce a trade within the league yesterday but that has broken down for the time being and Reagan is still hoping to finalize the trade by game time tonight.

Flin Flon has beaten the Hawks 3 out of 4 meetings with two of their wins coming at the Cage including their last meeting 3 to 2 back on December the 7th.

That was the Hawks first home game with Tad Kozun behind the bench who replaced Doug Johnston.

Nipawin has continued to struggle after the coaching change and are currently 12-18-0-5 which is third from the bottom and out of the playoffs.

Flin Flon limped into the Christmas break with 2 losses in their last 3 games but did beat Laronge 5 to 1 to hit the new year on a winning note.

They are currently 21-10-0-1 and are second in the Sherwood behind the red hot Melfort Mustangs who have won 9 in a row. Flin Flon is fourth  over all and tied with Battleford.

This will be a busy month for Flin Flon who will play 10 games and still have to make up the two games they had postponed against Laronge.

It all starts tonight in Nipawin and don't forget to catch tonight's game live on 102.9 CFAR and flinflononline.com with the Great North GM Coach's Show at 7:15 and drop of the puck at 7:30.