The Hawks and Klippers will faceoff for the third time this SJHL campaign Wednesday at the Centennial Arena. (Clark Stork/northeastNOW Staff)
New Year, New Hope

Hawks kick off 2024 with home showdown with Klippers

Jan 3, 2024 | 11:22 AM

The Nipawin Hawks return from their holiday break Wednesday with a matchup against the Kindersley Klippers at the Centennial Arena.

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) clubs are tied for fifth in the league standings with 30 points each and have also beaten each other once this year. Hawks Head Coach Tad Kozun said the team is excited to get back on the ice, especially with a crucial game point wise.

“It’s always nice to hit the ground running, get our feet back, get our legs back, just get back to Hawks’ hockey,” he said ahead of the club’s gameday meeting at the ‘Cage.’ “We’ve like dour preparation coming into the day, so we’ve got to carry that on and be ready to go tonight.”

Nipawin is a pair of games below the .500 mark with a record of 14-16-0-2, through 32 of the season’s 56-game schedule. Kozun admitted that the results of the first half of the season aren’t good enough, but the team is going to use the record as motivation over the final 24 games.

“We’re going to use the first half as fuel for us and make sure we get to where we want to go,” he said.

The team will have star rookie Ronan Buckberger back on the blueline after he missed all the Hawks’ December games while away at the World Junior ‘A’ Challenge. The 17-year-old Saskatoon product hasn’t suited up with two-time Defenseman of the Week Liam McInnis yet, plus Henry Smith is back healthy. Kozun said he’s optimistic the defense group can find its groove.

“You look at the seven we have here now, we’re pretty happy where our ‘d’ core is at and we just think it’s going to help us going forward,” Kozun concluded.

Faceoff is 7 p.m. at the Centennial Arena.

The Hawks will travel to Flin Flon on Friday and host the La Ronge Ice Wolves on Saturday.

clark.stork@pattisonmedia.com

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