The Hawks and Bombers faceoff in Flin Flon on Friday night. (Clark Stork/northeastNOW Staff)

By Clark Stork

Manitoba Bound

Hawks look to defuse Bombers in first visit to Flin Flon

Jan 5, 2024 | 10:25 AM

The Nipawin Hawks passed an early season test Wednesday with an impressive win over Kindersley, but the task is tougher Friday night.

The team will travel to Flin Flon for the first time this Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) season, seeking their first victory against the top-ranked Bombers. Flin Flon beat Nipawin 5-3 on the opening night of the season with the Hawks falling 3-2 on Oct. 24 as well.

Looking to make a push with a different-looking lineup since the last meeting, Head Coach Tad Kozun said he’s excited to see how his revamped roster stacks up against the nation’s top-ranked junior ‘A club.

“We’re looking forward to the challenge, I think everyone in the league looks forward to the challenge of playing Flin Flon right now,” he said. “It’s not a secret of what their record is, so we just have to make sure we take care of the details and we’re ready to go. You can’t take a shift off, it’s going to be a good test for us tonight.”

The Hawks have had their struggles with the Bombers in recent years winning just twice in the last 10 games at the Whitney Forum. In the last five years overall, the Bombers have taken 18 of the last 22 games between the two clubs. Last year Nipawin picked up just two points out of a possible 12 in the season series.

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Flin Flon has just three losses this season, one in regulation and two in extra time. A large part of the Bombers’ success is their power-play and penalty-killing units, each leading the SJHL in efficiency. The Hawks rank second in each category as well. Nipawin has held the vaunted Flin Flon power-play in check over two games and if they want to earn points at the Whitney Forum the special team battle needs to be on their side.

“We have to find a way to stay out of the box,” Kozun said of the six minors the Hawks took Wednesday versus Kindersley. “The penalties we took we’re all penalties, so we have to find a way to stay out of the box because it could be a battle of the special teams. It’s obviously going to be huge.”

Faceoff is at 7:30 p.m. from northern Manitoba with the pregame show of Duplex Furniture and Appliances Hawks Hockey beginning at 7:15 p.m.

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clark.stork@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @ClarkStork

by Clark Stork

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Hawks look to defuse Bombers in first visit to Flin Flon

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