“We talk about taking care of the first three and last three minutes of periods, and honestly, that was the difference.” 

Those words from Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings head coach Cody Mapes after Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the Flin Flon Bombers. Nearly all the goals for the Bombers were scored around the first three or final three minutes of each period. 

“We were kind of chasing the game after that, and that’s something we’ve talked about for a month now and it just can’t happen,” Mapes added. 

The Bombers opened the scoring late in the first period, with 3:21 left on the clock, as Zak Smith beat Joe Young. The response from the Red Wings came late in the period, though. 

A point shot from Benji Rutkai made its way through traffic and beat Cal Schell with just 26 seconds left in the period. The goal, Rutkai’s first in the SJHL, was assisted by Drew Kuzma. 

The second period saw the Bombers capitalize on those opportunities early in the period, and late in the period. Just 24 seconds into the middle frame Cole Duperreault would beat Young to make it 2-1 Flin Flon. Then, with 3:39 to play in the frame Jaxon Martens scored to make it 3-1. A second goal from Duperreault with 21 seconds left would make it 4-1 for the Bombers after 40 minutes. 

The lead was expanded to 5-1 when Martens scored his second of the game 3:18 into the third period, but then the Red Wings started to rally back. 

The scoring started when Jackson Hassman made a great individual effort after getting a breakout pass from Rutkai. Skating down the right wing, Hassman cut in towards the net, wristed the puck past Schell to make it 5-2.  

With 6:06 left in the game, Hassman had a chance to score his second of the night, when he was pulled down as he cut in front of the Flin Flon crease. He was awarded a penalty shot by referee Travis Murray but was unable to make it count. 

Weyburn would pull within two with 2:33 left in the period. During a scramble at the side of the crease, Dante Ballarin got the puck into the Bombers net to make it 5-3. The assist on the goal was credited to Graham Skinner. 

With just moments left in the game, the Red Wings called a timeout and put the extra attacker on the ice with Joe Young staying on the bench after the timeout. The Bombers, though, would get the puck out into the neutral zone. Jeremi Tremblay fired the puck down the ice from near the centre line, and found twine, making it 6-3 with 1:52 to play.  

The Red Wings weren’t ready to quit yet. Just 58 seconds after the empty-net goal, Nikolas Sombrowski would tuck the puck in on a wraparound, making it 6-4. This had the Wings again pulling Young in favour of the extra attacker. They threw everything they had at the Flin Flon goal but were unable to beat Schell for a fifth goal. 

The Red Wings will now have a few days to prepare for their first road trip of the season. They will be in Melfort Friday and Humboldt Sunday. You will be able to listen to both games on Red Wing Radio BIG106, starting with the pregame show at 7:15 p.m. on both days.