By Clark Stork

Rivalry renewed

Hawks handed loss by Mustangs

Jan 2, 2022 | 2:16 PM

The Nipawin Hawks’s struggles with Melfort continued Saturday at home as the Mustangs downed their rivals 5-1.

This was Melfort’s fifth consecutive win this Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) season against the Hawks including the team’s back-to-back home and home series pre and post-Christmas matchups. On Friday the Mustangs outpaced the Hawks 6-4, a game Nipawin led in the second period. In the rematch at the Centennial Arena Nipawin had several chances to take a lead but James Venne continued his strong play keeping the game tied 0-0 through the first 20 minutes. Nipawin Head Coach Tad Kozun said the game’s fortunes could have turned in the first frame.

“I thought the first period we took it to them, we had a really good start and had them back on their heels,” he told northeastNOW after the game. “We need a goal or two to give us a break, we easily could have been up one or two nothing in that first period and that would have changed the outcome of the game.”

The Hawks outshot Melfort 11 to six in the first period. The promising start was quickly forgotten in the opening moments of the second period. During four-on-four play due to offsetting penalties. Alex Moar scored to make the game 1-0. Dawson Leroux scored 26 seconds later making the game 2-0. Logan Cox made the score 3-0 just two minutes later. Kozun said that three-minute lapse was too much to overcome.

“Three bad minutes then we got behind the eight ball, we struggled from there and never recovered,” he said.

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Ben Tkachuk scored his first of two goals on the night just before the halfway point of the game. The Gronlid, Sask. product scored in the third period as well, the Mustangs captain scored four goals on the weekend. Nipawin’s Evan Bortis snapped Venne’s shutout bid with a shorthanded goal late in the third that featured several scrums and a pile of penalties. Kozun said sending a message in the third was important to the club.

“This is a big rivalry, we can all see it now, it was nice to see the rivalry back. We’re obviously on the wrong end, four games in a row now which is unacceptable. You want to go out there and play hard. There was no give up or quit in the team which was nice to see,” he said.

Venne finished with 23 saves for the win, Harmon Laser-Hume started for the Hawks in goal, he was pulled after allowing three goals on nine shots. Chase Hamm came in to relieve him, Hamm stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced.

Nipawin product Finley Radloff made his Hawk debut, the 16-year-old is currently playing for the U18 AAA Tisdale Trojans.

The Hawks will now regroup and prepare for the Flin Flon Bombers on Tuesday at home.

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clark.stork@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ClarkStork