The Long Beach Bombers (4-2) spent the weekend on a couple of short divisional road trips. Saturday the Bombers headed east to Center Ice Ontario, to take on the expansion Avalanche. Again, Jiri Sykora was forced to keep the Bombers in the game until their high-powered offense could overcome their defensive inabilities around the net. After a week of gripping his stick tight, forward Nikita Korotkov (Moscow, RUS) exploded for two goals in his first shift. The goals, just 30 seconds apart, were the first and second of his hat-trick, which he completed in just over half the game. Korotkov also added an assist on a beautiful two-on-two play with linemate Jakub Sramek (Most, CZE). The U.N. Line, as they were dubbed a night later by Valencia Flyers broadcaster Brent Maranto, accounted for 11 points on the evening. Mans Nystrand, the big Swedish center, had a four-assist outing, and again played strong in every square inch of the ice surface. Not to be outdone, co-captain Johnny Linehan, stepped off the plane and gave the Bombers a two-goal, one assist effort. His night was highlighted by a determined play in the neutral zone, leading to a short-handed breakaway goal. Defensemen Stephen White and Pavel Ratskevich (Minsk, BEL) each chipped in with a pair of assists, and fellow back-ender Giovanni Grasso (Spokane, WA) joined the rush late in the first period to register his first career junior goal. Sykora earned his fourth win on the young season, ending the night with 34 saves.

On Sunday, the Bombers traveled north to the Ice Station in Valencia for a matinee tilt with the home Flyers. The game would mark the first time this season that the Bombers were scored against first. The defensive play was porous all evening, and Sykora held the squad in the game as long as he could. The Bombers offense had its fair share of chances, with Korotkov hitting the crossbar on a power-play, and just narrowly missing a backdoor one-timer, compliments of a Stephen White pass. Nystrand found himself on a breakaway in the third, yet his backhand attempt was stymied by Flyers goaltender Stephen Palmer. Co-captain Guy Laporte opened the scoring for the Bombers, on an offensive zone face-off play. Just as Laporte looked like he was going to be stripped of the puck at the blueline, he made a quick move and threw a wrister on net. Palmer never saw it, as it slowly glided passed his shoulder. The Bombers found themselves down 3-1 in the second period, as they were given a 5-on-3 power play opportunity. Korotkov, Sramek, & White combined for some nice puck movement, ending with a Stephen White one-timer from 30 feet out, between the tops of the circles. Again, Palmer saw nothing, as Nystrand and Linehan were both parked at the top of the crease. Later in the period, on what was possibly the goal of the year, Jakub Sramek brought the score to 3-3. Johnny Linehan entered the zone on the left side, and with a streaking Sramek coming down the right, he played a backhand chip-to-area over a Flyers defenseman. Sramek, at full speed, took the pass off a hop, and one-timed it top shelf out of mid-air. It appeared as if that could be the momentum-changer the team was looking for. However, penalties at the end of the second period and start of the third resulted in a quick goal for the Flyers. They would add one more, mid-way through the final period, and cruise to a 5-3 victory, as the Bombers were tagged for three penalties in the final five minutes of play. The loss was the first road defeat for the Bombers, and hopefully, a wake up call in terms of what needs to be taken care of in the defensive zone to be a successful team in the WSHL. The Bombers have certainly showed their offensive prowess thus far, averaging nearly five goals per outing. Unfortunately, they have also been out-shot in every contest, and have lost both battles in which the offense did not finish on a few key scoring chances.

The Bombers will enjoy a bye week this weekend, and then play host to the San Diego Gulls on Friday, October 26 at Glacial Garden Skating Arena. The team currently sits in third place in the Pacific Division, behind the Fresno Monsters (6-0) and the Valencia Flyers (4-3-0-1).

Weekend Bombers Highlights: http://youtu.be/78iNbO_V-jE