After a successful pair of road games in which Niverville delivered big wins over division rivals Steinbach and Selkirk, the Nighthawks returned home to the CRRC on Saturday night with the goal of keeping their momentum rolling. And that’s exactly what happened, with a 6–2 win over the Northern Manitoba Blizzard. The victory marked the Nighthawks’ seventh straight win.
The Blizzard, who lost several key players in the offseason following their championship run, struggled early in the year, dropping their first six contests.
However, they entered Saturday’s matchup showing signs of life, having won three of their previous five. The Nighthawks, on the other hand, came in red-hot—winners of six straight and boasting a 12–1–0 record through their first 13 games.
It didn’t take long for Niverville to strike. Ryken Arran, who scored on a penalty shot in the team’s 4–1 victory over Selkirk earlier in the week, was awarded another penalty shot against the Blizzard. This time, he slid a backhand past Nick Kunyk to give the home team a 1–0 lead.
Minutes later, Calyb Moore doubled the advantage, finding a loose puck in the left circle and snapping a shot over the glove of Kunyk to make it 2–0. The tally was Moore’s third of the season.
The two-goal lead was short-lived, though. Just 14 seconds later, Blizzard captain Kelton Kellerman’s point shot found its way through traffic and past Nighthawks netminder Ben Chornomydz, cutting the lead in half.
Northern Manitoba then tied the game midway through the period when Kayne Pawlick stole the puck at the Nighthawks’ blue line, broke in on a two-on-one, and fired a shot over the glove of Chornomydz to silence the CRRC crowd.
But late in the frame, Niverville captain Adam Vigfusson restored the lead with a beautiful individual effort. Carrying the puck from the corner, he weaved through defenders before lifting a backhand past Kunyk to make it 3–2 heading into the intermission.
The Nighthawks took control late in the second period when Loik Leduc split the Blizzard defence and attempted a pass that deflected off a stick and forced Kunyk into a tough save. The rebound popped out to Parker Carrier, who buried it from in tight to extend the lead to 4–2.
In the third, Niverville put the game out of reach as Merik Boles and Hayden Wheddon added goals.
Chornomydz improved to 3–0–0 on the season, turning aside 15 of 17 shots, while Kunyk stopped 32 of 38.
After the game, head coach Dwight Hirst praised his team’s strong start but cautioned against complacency.
“We came out pretty quick and pretty hungry, but we kind of let them get back into the hockey game,” said Hirst. “When you get off to the start we have, and have the record we have, you’re going to have teams that want to take you down, so you have to be prepared for their best every single night.”
The Nighthawks won’t have much time to celebrate, as they’re right back in action Sunday afternoon at home against the Dauphin Kings—the only team to defeat Niverville so far this season. The Kings earned a decisive 5–1 win in Niverville back on October 12. Dauphin fell 8–6 to Steinbach on Saturday night.
“We are looking to have a rebound effort against Dauphin, and we know they’ll be coming in just as hungry as they were a few weeks ago,” Hirst added. “So we’ll have to be ready.”
Puck drop is set for 3:00 p.m. Sunday at the CRRC.
See below for game highlights and an exclusive interview with Aaron Krestanowich.