ESTEVAN - There may be no place like home for the Flin Flon Bombers, but a large group of travelling fans has tried to give the Bombers a home ice advantage during the Centennial Cup.
More than 50 fans have made the trip south to watch the team at this year's Centennial Cup, with more expected later this week. The team, which has gone 1-1-2-0 through the preliminary round and starts its playoff round Friday afternoon against Pickering, has received plenty of fan support from fans and family.
Flin Flon may be at least an eight hour drive away from Estevan, but it is still the one of the closest visiting teams to the southern Saskatchewan community - only Brooks, Alta., and their Brooks Bandits and Dauphin, home of the MJHL champion Kings, are closer.
Dozens of people have showed up Affinity Place in maroon and white, with some bringing some familiar sights and sounds with them. The drum typically used at the Whitney Forum by "Krazy Krazz" is back in use, this time by fan Tayler Kittle, who has been entrusted with the honour of banging the drum during games in Krazz's absence.
The Bombers' Zamboni driver, Jamie "Poopsie" Webber, has also made the trip south, along with his noisemaker of choice - a pan and wooden spoon - and his normal fan uniform, a visor, purple wig and oversized set of purple novelty glasses.
"Those are for the refs," Webber quipped. "I have 'em on so I can give them to the refs."
The travelling fans have been treated to stellar performances from the players so far. Flin Flon won three of their four preliminary round games, with one win coming in 3-on-3 overtime and a second coming in a shootout against Dauphin.
"It's been insane. We've been up and we've been down, watching overtimes and shootouts. The players have heart - they're playing like there's no tomorrow," Webber said.
Other fans with ties to the club from outside the north have also made the trip. Jeff Egan, the father of Bomber rookie Matt Egan, travelled from southern Manitoba to see the team take part in the tournament, as well as watching several Bomber playoff games. Egan hasn't been able to watch his son play - a lingering injury has kept him out of the lineup so far - but he said the experience has still been brilliant so far.
"It's been great. It's unfortunate that there's an injury with my kid and we don't get to see him play, but we're here to support the rest of the team and his teammates. It's been an amazing experience to see not only my son, but all these boys go through this," he said.
"We hope to turn the tide on Friday and bring the Cup to Flin Flon."
Other Bomber fans said that the hospitality from the Estevan fans and locals had been noteworthy, praising their temporary home community.
"It's been exciting. The Estevan fans have been amazing," said Sue Murray, another travelling Bomber fan.
"They've been nothing but gracious. They've embraced us, they've taken pictures of us, Poopsie with his gear, me with my flag... it's been really, really good."
The 2022 event bears some resemblance to the 2001 RBC Cup hosted in Flin Flon, but one key exception has been found - the lack of an on-site beer garden or visiting area. Such an area was part of the 2001 festivities in Flin Flon, hosted in the Uptown Curling Club rink next door to the Whitney Forum - that area, dubbed the "Bomb Shelter", brought significant revenue in for tournament organizers and gave both local and travelling fans a place to unwind between games.
"People don't have nowhere to go," Webber said.
"You don't have a place to mingle and stuff."
In response, fans have been spending their time at a handful of Estevan-area businesses, often travelling as a larger group. Some have passed the off-days by going to area golf courses.
"It's been a good experience and we're here to support the boys. When we're not watching them, we try to get some relaxation time in on the golf course with these fine people from Flin Flon - hanging out with all sorts of people and we're loud and proud," Egan said.
For fans unable to make the trip south, Egan and Webber both say the experience was easily worth the trip.
"For the fans that aren't fortunate enough to come down here, you're missing out. It's really good hockey and it's certainly different watching it on TV, whether it's on Hockey Canada or HockeyTV - if you can come down here and see what these fellows are doing, they're putting everything out on the line," Egan said.
"You're definitely missing out. It's a great atmosphere with all the Bomber fans. We're going to come home with the Cup and we're going to be celebrating," he said.
"Believe and achieve, boys."
