It was a busy week for the Nipawin Hawks on the ice with four games in six days, it was an equally busy week off as the Hawks acquired a pair of players.
The first player the Hawks acquired was Gage Misskey, who they brought in from the Drumheller Dragons in exchange for a player development fee.
“When you’re able to bring a guy in that can fit in your top 4, top 5 and not give up a player it’s pretty important to do so. We liked the trade for us, it made us better and not only for this year but he’s going to add a huge part of our game for next year too,” noted Doug Johnson, the head coach.
Johnson noted the 5’9”, 165 lb Melfort native will help solidfy the Hawks’ back end, and will bring a little bit of offense to their blue line.
“He’s a very good skater from the defensive position, moves the puck well, is able to skate it out, pass it out, and plays physical. He’s not the biggest guy but he plays physical and has great positioning.”
Misskey joined the Hawks in time for their three game Southern Saskatchewan road trip where he picked up four penalty minutes and failed to register a point.
Despite failing to score a point in his first games with the Hawks, Misskey is still learning the system, and Johnson said he felt he had a solid weekend.
A few days later the Hawks made a move which they hope will improve their forwards ranks when they acquired the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League rights to Rykr Cole.
Cole spent the early part of the season playing in the Western Hockey League with the Spokane Chiefs, but Johnson noted he has cleared waivers, and is now evaluating his options.
“We have talked to him, where those talks go we don’t know, it’s still early in the process but for us it was an opportunity to add a tremendous hockey player and an even better person that could really help put us over the top... it’s just an opportunity, too good to pass up for us.”
The 6’0”, 183 lb Moosomin native scored two goals and added one assist this season with the Chiefs before being waived, and should he decide to play in the SJHL and join the Hawks, Johnson says he will provide the Hawks with a terrific number one centre.
“He could be the best player in the league, he’s just a very good kid too. On top of it he’s captain material.”
If he does decide to join the Hawks, Cole would likely slot in next to Brandan Arnold on the Hawks’ top line, but Johnson noted sometimes chemistry between players comes from where you least expect it.
The Hawks will await word from Cole as to what his next decision will be.
In the meantime, they will get set to return to the ice on Oct. 27 when they welcome the Notre Dame Hounds to the Cage.
Hawks @ Yorkton, 6-2 Hawks
The Nipawin Hawks’ early season dominance over the Yorkton Terriers continued on Oct. 17 as they routed the Terriers 6-2 in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League action in Yorkton.
Just days after the Hawks shutout the Terriers 5-0, in a game that the Hawks fired 50 shots on goal, they did it again, outshooting the Terriers 50-25.
Heading into the contest, Johnson admitted to having a little concern over whether the Hawks would come in totally focused after such an easy win just days prior, and noted it was nice to see that they did bring the same level of focus that allowed them to route the Terriers.
“It’s tough sometimes when you have success, you tend to lay off the gas. I thought that we had a pretty good game in Yorkton and obviously were rewarded for our effort.”
The Hawks jumped on the Terriers early as Keillan Olson scored his fourth of the year just 4:36 into the game.
The Hawks hung onto their lead until early in the second, when the Terriers tied the game with a power play marker of their own.
The Hawks took over the game from that moment on as Carter Doerksen scored on the power play less than two minutes later, and Daven Smith scored his first of the year later in the period to give the Hawks a 3-1 lead after two periods.
The Hawks extended their lead to three in final period.
After the Terriers cut the Hawks lead back to two, the Hawks put the game away for good as Brandan Arnold and Austin Mikesch both found the back of the net to give the Hawks the win.
Despite piling up 50 shots, and 3 power play goals, Johnson noted, while the Hawks played a solid game, there were still areas of their game that they needed to clean up.
“The second goal against we got a little lazy but overall we really liked our game and thought that when we needed to come up big we did.”
The Hawks blueline was terrific in the contest as they combined for a goal and seven assists.
Seeing that kind of production from their blueline was a long time coming, noted Johnson, who says they were always known for their defensive ability in the past.
“It’s nice to see guys like Josh McDougall, who’s obviously a special talent, but guys like Thomas Lenchyshyn and Carter Doerksen really get rewarded for their effort that they’ve given us not only this year but in the past. It’s just going to add another layer of secondary scoring for us, which we really need this year.”
Jake Anthony picked up the win in the Hawks goal turning aside 23 of the 25 shots he faced in just since second start since September.
Hawks @ Estevan, 2-1 Hawks
The Nipawin Hawks got the better of the Estevan Bruins in the battle of upper echelon clubs, as the Hawks knocked off the Bruins 2-1 in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League action in Estevan.
The Oct. 20 clash featured the second ranked team in the SJHL, the Bruins, against the third ranked club from Nipawin.
The game got off to a quiet start for both teams as neither team found the back of the net until the Bruins scored on the power play at 2:50 of the second period.
The game stayed 1-0 Bruins until 11:42 of the third when Jake Tremblay scored his third of the season to knot the score at one.
Tremblay would score his second of the night with just over 1:30 to play in the third period to give the Hawks the win.
Despite the win, Johnson was not overly pleased with his teams’ effort, noting the third period was good, but the first two were not their best.
“We just kind of had the bus legs and we weren’t awful we just weren’t as sharp as we can be and gave Estevan some chances. Declan [Hobbs], I thought, had an outstanding game for us in net and then in the third period we finally found our legs and got back to the way we’re capable of playing and put some real good pressure on Estevan.”
Hobbs finished the evening turning aside 27 of the 28 shots he faced to pick up his fourth win of the season, as the Hawks were outshot 29-28 by the Bruins.
Hobbs and the Hawks defense was excellent in their own zone, as they limited Michael McChesney and Zach Goberis, the leagues top two scorers to just a single goal combined.
“We just had the system and guys worked hard. We did make some mistakes and Declan came up big for us but the guys knew when Goberis and McChesney were on the ice we tried to take away as much time and space as possible,” noted Johnson.
“Defensively we did a nice job really protecting the middle of the ice, defending the middle and it obviously worked out for us.”
Hawks @ Weyburn, 3-1 Red Wings
The Nipawin Hawks saw their five game winning streak come to an end with a 3-1 loss to the Weyburn Red Wings in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League action in Weyburn.
Despite the loss, the Oct. 21 matchup was a solid effort from the Hawks as they well outshot the Red Wings 51-24.
Johnson noted their struggles to score, despite firing 51 shots on the net came down to a combination of a hot goalie, but more so was the Hawks not capitalizing on their chances.
“I thought we made life a little easy on their goalie with some shots right in his glove, right in his belly, not a lot of secondary chances as far as rebounds.”
The Hawks drew first blood in the contest as Carter Doerksen scored his second of the year, and second in three games, to take a 1-0 lead in the first period, but they could not hold the lead, as the Red Wings scored once in the second and two more times in the third to skate away with the win.
Despite coming out on the wrong side of the contest, Johnson was pleased with how his team played.
“We maybe made four or five defensive mistakes, which normally that’s pretty good, unfortunately this time three of them ended up in the back of our net.”
The only real complaint Johnson had about the game is his teams’ discipline, which is something he says needs to be addressed.
“We ended up letting our emotions get the best of us at times and weren’t as disciplined as we needed to be.”
Declan Hobbs was charged with the loss in the Hawks' cage, his first since rejoining the team earlier this month, as he gave up three goals on 24 shots.
Hawks @ Notre Dame, 2-1 Hounds
The Nipawin Hawks played an excellent game but came out on the wrong side of the decision as they were beaten 2-1 by the Notre Dame Hounds in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League action in Weyburn.
The Oct. 22 contest saw the Hawks absolutely dominate the game, especially on the shot clock were they outshot the Hounds 39-16.
Despite failing to win, Johnson was pleased with how his team played, noting they did everything and more than Johnson expected, short of winning the game.
“You go into a very good team’s barn that’s Olympic-sized ice, when you’re playing three games in three nights and I thought we dominated play right from top to bottom. I don’t think we really gave them grade A chances.”
After a scoreless first period, the Hounds got on the board first in the second, but before the period was out Josh McDougall scored his third of the year to tie the score at one.
With 7:00 remaining in the third period, Burke Johnstone scored his first of the year to give the Hounds the win.
The Hawks’ inability to score, played a big part in the loss, but Johnson noted his team did a good job of pressuring the Hounds.
“I thought we had some good chances, we hit some posts, we had some open nets and I think sometimes when you are fatigued and you are working hard you maybe grip your stick a little tighter than you should and I just think that was the case.”
One of the areas where the Hawks’ offense really struggled was on the power play where they finished the night 1-for-11.
Johnson notes the stat is a little misleading as the Hawks had two power plays that lasted less than 30 seconds combined, and says it was just a matter of not converting on their chances.
“People just tried to be a little too perfect instead of relying on what has worked, what is working for us and just got away from some of those things. We hit a couple posts on the power play, we had some chances, they just didn’t go in too.”
Jake Anthony was charged with the loss in the Hawks goal as he allowed two goals on 16 shots.
The Hawks will have a chance to make amends for their loss to the Hounds, as they return to action on Oct. 27 when they host the Hounds at the cage.
Heading into that contest Johnson notes the key will be for the Hawks to score more than they did in this contest.
“We outplayed them badly. I thought that we handled them in all the aspects of it other than maybe discipline and the power play. So we get those taken care of, I think things are going to be good.”
