Jarrett Metheral and Ryan Rothenburger scored their first goals as Red Wings Wednesday night, but the party was spoiled by Greyson Reitmeier of the Flin Flon Bombers. Reitmeier picked up four points to help power the hometown Bombers to a 5-3 victory. The loss is the second in a row for the Red Wings, who are now halfway through a four-game road swing through northern Saskatchewan.

The special teams would prove once again to be the difference for the Red Wings, as they gave up two power play goals in six opportunities for Flin Flon. Weyburn has now given up 35 power play goals on the season, the most of any team in the league. Their penalty kill percentage is also the worst in the SJHL this season, at 76.7 per cent.

The two teams, who have built up a bit of a rivalry over the past few seasons, came out playing hard, with a number of big hits from both teams. The biggest highlight came in the second period, when Cole Woodliffe of the Wings caught Connor Beebe with his head down behind the net. Beebe was quick to get back up, but would see limited action for the remainder of the game.

Metheral opened the scoring for the Wings with 7:42 left on the clock in the first period, when he blindly threw the puck on net off a faceoff to the right of Bombers netminder Brenden Newton. The shot found the mark, and the Wings enjoyed the early lead, which stunned the smaller than average, but boisterous crowd, at the Whitney Forum.

“It was a long time coming, for sure, but I really wish we could have gotten the two points,” said Metheral after the game. “Nobody knew where the shot was coming from, it was so quick. The goalie was standing still, so that’s how it got past him.”

Carson Rose awarded a penalty shotCarson Rose had a chance to make it a 2-0 game for the Wings just over a minute later. He was awarded a penalty shot, after being hooked while on a breakaway. Rose wasn’t able to convert the penalty shot, though, and play continued.

Flin Flon tied the game up with a power play marker just under over three minutes after the Metheral goal. Shaun Fleming, who was making his second start this season in Flin Flon, was beaten on the shot by Rylee Zimmer, who was assisted by Reitmeier.

It wouldn’t take long in the second period for the Bombers to gain the lead. Just 2:50 into the middle stanza, Zimmer netted his second goal of the game. This started a quick paced three minutes, which would see two more goals scored.

First, Reitmeier scored his first of the game at the 4:05 mark of the period. Just seconds later, the Wings responded, as Ryan Rothenburger snapped home a rebound off the boards past Newton, making it a one goal game.

Flin Flon would jump out to a 4-2 lead in the third period, when Reitmeier scored his second of the match. The Wings kept pressing though, and would once again close the gap to one, when Ian Parker took a cross ice feed from Noah Wozney, and lifted it past Newton. Flin Flon wasn’t done, though, as Jordan McCausland scored his first goal as a Bomber, after being acquired from the Terriers at the December 1st roster deadline. Reitmeier’s fourth point of the game came on an assist on the goal.

With just under two minutes remaining, the Wings pulled Fleming in favour of the extra attacker. With five forwards and one defenceman on the ice, the Wings were able to generate opportunities, but couldn’t get anything past Newton, who once again stole a game from the Red Wings in the Whitney Forum.

After the game, Red Wings head coach Wes Rudy said he was happy with the compete level shown by his team, which was short staffed for the match-up. Weyburn had 18 players dressed for the game, as opposed to the regular 20, due to injuries and illness. He wasn’t happy with every aspect of how the game went, though.

“It’s always tough in Flin Flon for everything to go your way,” Rudy explained. “And we took a lot more penalties than they did tonight.” The Red Wings received a total of seven minors, six of which resulted in power plays, compared to just two penalties in total for the Bombers.

The Wings will spend Thursday recovering from the two games, and should see Blake Dempsey or Dylan McCabe – possibly both – return to the lineup. For Thursday, there is a practice scheduled in Nipawin, along with team building activities, before Friday’s game against the Ice Wolves in La Ronge. That game can be heard on Red Wing Radio, K106, starting with the pregame show at 6:50 p.m.