By Clark Stork

Saturday Night Hockey

Hawks’ busy week continues with stop in Humboldt

Feb 5, 2022 | 11:22 AM

The Hawks are in Humboldt Saturday to tangle with the Broncos for the second time this Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) season.

The teams met on Nov. 20 at the Elgar Petersen Arena with Humboldt skating away with a 3-2 shootout victory. Grasping to their playoff hopes, Head Coach Tad Kozun said he’s excited to see how his team approaches the game against one of their top rivals.

“It’s going to be a good test for our guys tonight,” Kozun said. “Especially coming back after that loss to Estevan on Wednesday. We need to get back on the right train here and make sure everyone is pulling their weight. It will be a good test for us.”

Nipawin will start the weekend seven points back of the playoff race, the Hawks face Melville Sunday at home. They will also see the Broncos three times in the next two weeks. Humboldt is second in the SJHL and boists a lineup that has scored the second-most goals in the league this season. Kozun expects the team to bring lots of speed, but Nipawin will try to answer the pace as a group.

“They are going to come with a lot of speed, they put a lot of pressure on us. We must make sure our decisions are quick, we’re getting pucks out, and make sure we’re using each other and sticking together as a five-man unit,” he said.

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The Hawks have 14 games remaining in the SJHL season including 12 over the month of February. With scoreboard help not coming from teams ahead of them in the standings, each game is crucial if Nipawin is going to get back into the top eight teams. Kozun said their game plan for the Broncos is to be physical and get them off their game, much like they did in late November.

“If teams are going fast there is only one way to slow them down and that’s getting in their way and finishing your hits to make them not want to go through you. It becomes a mentality if you want to slow them down you must finish their checks. If you want to see them run, swing by, and poke check then they will use their speed and skate circles around you,” Kozun said.

Face-off at the Elgar Petersen Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. The pregame show on Saskatchewan’s Beach Radio will start at 7:15 p.m.

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clark.stork@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ClarkStork