The Niverville Nighthawks’ offence continued its torrid pace Friday night, erupting for nine goals in a dominant 9–2 victory over the Swan Valley Stampeders.

Newly acquired forward Marlen Edwards made an immediate impact in his home debut, scoring a hat trick to give him four goals in just two games since joining the Nighthawks—all on the power play.

Niverville’s top scorers were in fine form throughout the night. Dawson Zeller recorded two goals and two assists, while Hayden Wheddon added a goal and three assists to finish with four points of his own. Evan Panzer chipped in with a goal and an assist, while John Scott and Jake Demone each registered two assists in the win.

Despite the lopsided final score, Niverville head coach Dwight Hirst admitted that the start wasn’t ideal.

“I thought the last 40 minutes were good, but the first period was pretty sloppy,” Hirst said.

Swan Valley took advantage of some early miscues, generating quality scoring chances in the opening minutes, but Nighthawks goaltender Austin Dubinsky stood tall to keep the game scoreless.

The tide turned five minutes in when Niverville went to the power play. Edwards opened the scoring with his first of three man-advantage goals, finishing a give-and-go with Wheddon to make it 1–0.

Just 13 seconds later, the Nighthawks doubled their lead when Demone’s point shot found Panzer at the top of the crease. Panzer settled the puck before slipping a backhand between the legs of Stampeders goaltender Samuel Bastien.

Swan Valley briefly responded when Dylan Ruff, one of three recent additions making their Stampeder debuts, wrapped the puck around Dubinsky to cut the deficit to 2–1. The momentum was short-lived, however, as Zeller restored Niverville’s two-goal cushion just 22 seconds later, wiring a cross-ice feed from Panzer blocker side.

The second period belonged entirely to the Nighthawks.

Edwards struck again on the power play, beating Bastien glove side from the left faceoff dot to make it 4–1. Zeller followed with his second of the night midway through the frame, burying a rebound in tight for his tenth goal of the season.

A sequence that epitomized Niverville’s effort saw Adam Vigfusson absorb a heavy hit at centre ice to move the puck forward to Wheddon. Wheddon carried it over the blue line before feeding Scott, who carried the puck to the bottom of the right circle before finding Wheddon in the slot for a quick finish and a 6–1 lead.

Vigfusson would add his name to the scoresheet moments later, converting a pass from Thomas Phillips for his twentieth goal of the season. Parker Rolston capped the period late, finishing a feed from Parker Carrier to send the Nighthawks into the intermission up 8–1.

Swan Valley’s Zach Hertz scored his first with the club early in the third on another wraparound, but any thoughts of a comeback were quickly extinguished.

Edwards completed his hat trick with under three minutes remaining, snapping a shot past Bastien after a strong breakout initiated by Dubinsky, who sent a pass to Scott at the Stampeders blue line. Scott entered the zone, circled, then sent a perfect cross-ice pass to Edwards for the tally. The assist by Dubinsky gave the Nighthawks netminder points in back-to-back games.

“It’s something we’ve been working on a lot at practice,” Hirst said of Dubinsky’s puck-handling. “Having our goalies recognize when there’s changes and opportunities to move the puck up—and Austin’s really improved in his stickhandling ability this year.”

Edwards’ seamless transition into the lineup hasn’t gone unnoticed by his coach.

“He’s got four goals on the power play, so he adds a new element to that unit and you can’t have enough of that,” Hirst said. “The way he plays fits in perfectly with the style we play and fits our system, so it’s been a pretty easy transition.”

Hirst also highlighted Edwards’ championship experience.

“It’s another player in our lineup with a championship pedigree after winning last year with Northern Manitoba, and so it adds more depth in that area too.”

The win marked Niverville’s seventh straight victory and the third consecutive game in which they’ve scored eight or more goals. Since the holiday break, the Nighthawks have outscored their opponents 30–10.

The Nighthawks head to Winnipeg on Tuesday to face the Monarchs before returning home Thursday afternoon for a rare 1:00 p.m. puck drop against the Selkirk Steelers. Niverville then embarks on a seven-game road trip, returning to the CRRC on February 7 against Virden.