Tad Kozun speaks to the Nipawin Hawks during the teams 3-2 loss against the Flin Flon Bombers on Dec. 7 at the Centennial Arena. (Clark Stork/northeastNOW Staff)

By Clark Stork

Hawks head to Yorkton for Tuesday night Terriers matchup

Dec 14, 2021 | 1:50 PM

The Nipawin Hawks are hoping to build off their first win of December as the team enters a three-game stretch to close the unofficial first half of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) season.

On Saturday, Nipawin scored early in the first period igniting the throwing of teddy bears for the annual promotion that benefits the Salvation Army and cruised to a 4-1 win over the Battlefords North Stars. Interim head coach Tad Kozun got his first win behind the bench in the victory, something he said was “very, very special.”

He added that the win for the players was well earned.

“We always keep preaching, if you do it once you don’t get rewarded, but if you keep putting in efforts like that you are going to start getting rewarded. You will start getting some bounces the way we’ve been working, so we have to continue to keep moving forward, we can’t take any steps back now,” Kozun said.

Tuesday the club travels to Yorkton to meet the Terriers for the second time in just over two weeks. On Nov. 27 the Hawks lost 1-0 in a shootout. That contest began a five-game winless streak that was finally snapped against North Battleford. Kozun said upsetting the fourth-place Stars was a big boost to the team’s confidence.

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“The Stars are a good team, but we want to make sure that people take notice of the Nipawin Hawks, we’re going to surprise some teams,” he added.

The Hawks currently sit in ninth place in the SJHL standings with 27 points. A highlight for the team that doesn’t score a lot of goals is the fact that when the team does score early and take a lead to dressing room after the first period, the team has seven wins and no losses. The issue is the club hasn’t accomplished that feat enough, but Kozun said that’s a focus.

“That’s something we’ve been talking about,” he said. “You can’t win the game in the first shift, but you can sure set the tone for the rest of the game.”

The Terriers have trended up since the last meeting between the clubs. Yorkton has won five of their last six games. The team also added SJHL veteran and local to the Yorkton area Zach McIntyre since their last meeting. Kozun said the Hawks are aware of the Terriers recent play.

“They are a good team too; they’ve obviously been turning it on of late and made some moves so we’ll be aware of that. We just have to make sure we’re ready to go, stick to our game plan, I think we’ll be alright.”

Faceoff is set for 7:30 p.m., the game will be broadcasted on Saskatchewan’s New Beach Radio beginning with the pregame show at 7:15 p.m.

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clark.stork@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ClarkStork