Reid McKay fires one of 49 Nipawin shots on Kelton Pyne of the Melville Millionaires on Wednesday at the Centennial Arena. (Clark Stork/northeastNOW Staff)
Instant Impact

Visser’y’ in Chase’s debut; Hawks beat Millionaires

Dec 1, 2022 | 11:03 AM

Nipawin’s newcomer provided an early spark for his new team on Wednesday and the Hawks skated away with a 5-3 victory over Melville.

Chase Visser was acquired from the Lloydminster Bobcats on Tuesday and suited up in his debut against the Millionaires. The 19-year-old Barrhead, Alta. product took a pass from Jake Smith in the slot early in the first period and beat Kelton Pyne for his first Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) goal.

“I just kind of threw it on net and they kind of took me down so I didn’t get to see it go in, I just saw the goalie shaking his head. I was in the boards, and they were coming at me, a rush of emotion, it was awesome,” Visser told northeastNOW after the win.

Carson Dobson also scored in the first period giving the Hawks a 2-0 lead after the first period. Zander Stewart put Nipawin up 3-0 early in the second period, but the visitors responded with a pair of goals including a penalty shot tally from Nathan Fox beating Nipawin netminder Jackson Fellner.

Melville scored again in the third tying the game at 3-3. The Hawks responded shortly after on a powerplay, Alex Johnson snapped a rebound past Pune for his seventh of the season and the game-winner. Joel Mabin added an insurance marker with just over five minutes to play to cap the score and seal Nipawin’s second-straight win over Melville. Visser said the first 48 hours of his time in the town has been fantastic.

“It’s been awesome, everything I have seen so far, the room, the rink, the guys in the room, I have been loving it. It’s been two days, I haven’t had this much fun in a while, so it’s been pretty awesome,” he said.

Stewart chipped in with two assists along with his third goal, the 19-year-old sits fourth in defensemen scoring in the SJHL with 21 points. Johnson also added an assist, the three-year now Hawk leads the team with 28 points, which equals Rylan Lefebvre’s team-leading total at the end of last season.

Fellner made 23 stops in the victory, Pyne gave the Millionaires a chance stopping 44 of 49 Hawk offerings.

The teams will face off again on Sunday at the Centennial Arena, puck drop is at 3 p.m. Visser said he will continue to get comfortable with his new club and prepare for a sweep of the Millionaires in the stretch of three in a row.

“They know that these are big games, they have reiterated that to me. This third one here, if we can win three straight against them that is huge. Obviously, we want to build a bigger gap on them and gain on other teams, that’s what we’re going to do,” he concluded.

The Dec. 4 meeting between the teams is the Hawks’ annual Teddy Bear Toss and Food Drive for the Salvation Army game. When the Hawks score their first goal fans are asked to throw the bears onto the ice, and non-perishable food items will also be collected.

clark.stork@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ClarkStork

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