The Nipawin Hawks are in Kindersley for back-to-back games this weekend as the SJHL continues the push for the playoffs. (Clark Stork/northeastNow Staff)

By Clark Stork

Crunch time

Hawks head to Hanger for back-to-back clashes with Kindersley

Feb 9, 2024 | 12:18 PM

The Nipawin Hawks will begin the biggest weekend of the 2023/24 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) season on Friday in Kindersley.

The clubs will meet on back-to-back nights with points and playoff positioning on the line. The Hawks have slipped to ninth in the SJHL standings, currently five points back of the Klippers in sixth place.

Despite the recent departure of the Buckbergers who are heading to the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCHL), Head Coach Tad Kozun is confident in the group and proud to wear the Nipawin logo.

“We’ve put in the time this week and we are ready to go, we kind of have a different mindset coming in here,” Kozun said Friday morning. “I think the guys that are here are excited to get back on the ice and playing Hawks hockey.”

The second half of the season has been a struggle for the Hawks, who have now lost seven games in a row and collected just two points in that time. Nipawin’s last victory was on Jan. 6 over La Ronge. Even with the lack of production, Kozun said the team is still in control of their playoff destiny, but the team needs to turn their fortunes quickly.

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“All that matters is that you just have to get in. It’s got to start tonight; we can’t look past tonight. We obviously know we get to control our own destiny with the teams we play and where we are at in the standings,” Kozun continued.

The Hawks have had success against the Klippers this year, beating them in two of the three games which included two seven goal efforts.

Recently the Hawks’ offence has been misfiring, but maybe a team that has allowed 17 goals in the three matchups is what Kozun’s crew needs. He added the club has to not get behind early as that has been a concern during their recent slide.

“The last few games, our starts haven’t been great, so we to make sure we’re ready to go tonight and make sure we are in the hockey game right away,” he said.

Faceoff is 7:30 p.m. both nights from the West Central Event Centre. The pregame show of Duplex Furniture and Appliances Hawks Hockey on 750 Beach Radio begins at 7:15 p.m.

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clark.stork@pattisonmedia.com

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