By Clark Stork

MUST WIN GAMES

Hawks hit the road for weekend set in Melville and Yorkton

Nov 26, 2021 | 12:29 PM

The Nipawin Hawks are on the road this weekend with games scheduled in Melville on Friday and Yorkton on Saturday.

The team dropped a 5-1 decision to the Flin Flon Bombers on Tuesday night in their last action and sit with a record of nine wins, 11 losses in regulation and three losses in a shootout. Sitting in the final playoff spot nearing the halfway point of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) season Head Coach Doug Johnson said with back-to-back games against teams tied and below them in the standings these games are critical for the club.

“We have to get the four points, everything from here on out basically is a playoff game for us, we put ourselves in a not great position. We have to win games and get points, these are two very winnable games for us,” Johnson said.

After four wins to start the season, the team has hovered below the .500 mark for winning percentage, a huge ingredient in the struggles is special teams, specifically the penalty kill that was second in the SJHL, the team is now ranked 10^th in that category. The Hawks have allowed 16 powerplay goals against in their last six games, only one being a win. Johnson said he has faith the team can get back to killing penalties if they improve their work ethic.

“Sometimes were not picking up the stick, sometimes its our own stick, sometimes its not protecting the front of the net, sometimes its not making a save, sometimes it’s not clearing the puck,” he said. “If we weren’t good at the start of the year I’d have more concern, but right now I think its mental. It’s getting back to having that nasty attitude that we’re going to outwork you, have a nasty attitude and you aren’t going to score on us.”

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Friday’s game in Melville will be the second meeting of the season between the two clubs, Melville won the opener of the season series 4-1 back on Oct. 26. That was the Millionaires first win against the Hawks in over five seasons. Johnson said the team needs to get back to basics and play the way the team has grown accustomed to over their long string of success during his 12 years behind the bench.

“We have to win every shift, then we win every period, then we win the game. Instead of looking at the big picture we’re going to look at small pictures, win your shift. We talked about that earlier, you outwork everybody, that has to be our mentality,” he said.

Friday’s game is a 7 p.m. start, Saturday’s game will begin at 7:30 p.m. The pregame show on Saskatchewan New Beach Radio will begin 15 minutes prior to puck drop.

clark.stork@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ClarkStork