By Bill Burfoot
📸 Niverville Online
For the Niverville Nighthawks, Friday night was about more than beginning another season, as before the puck dropped, the Nighthawks took one final opportunity to celebrate the magical 2025–26 campaign by unveiling their MJHL Turnbull Cup and Centennial Cup championship banners at the CRRC.
Special memories
It was an emotional ceremony made even more special by the families of two members of last season’s championship team. Merik Boles’ parents, Chris and Leanne, along with Marlen Edwards’ parents, Tim and Emma, helped unveil the banners as more than 700 fans looked on.
Once the celebration was over, it was time to begin a new chapter.
After falling behind by two goals in the opening period, the Nighthawks responded with five unanswered goals to defeat the Winnipeg Monarchs 5–2 in their home opener.
First Period
With the emotions of the ceremony still being felt throughout the CRRC, the Nighthawks nearly gave the home crowd some more to celebrate in the opening minute.
Marlen Edwards found himself all alone in front of Winnipeg goaltender Piet Mierau and tried to deke around him, but lost control of the puck on his backhand.
It was the first of several opportunities for Edwards in the opening period. The dynamic forward also found himself on a breakaway later in the period but was unable to solve Mierau.
After Niverville controlled much of the play in the opening couple of minutes, Winnipeg began to find its legs and generate chances of its own.
The Monarchs were rewarded on the power play after Fenton Mann was called for interference.
With the puck behind the Nighthawks’ net, a fortunate bounce left it loose near the side of the goal. With Ben Chornomydz sliding toward the far post, Landon Smith gathered the puck at the near post and tucked it in before the Niverville goaltender could slide back across, giving Winnipeg a 1–0 lead just 3:58 into the game.
The teams continued to trade chances before another uncharacteristic Nighthawks miscue in their own zone resulted in Winnipeg doubling its lead.
Mitch Hill found Kale Jones at the top of the crease, and Jones chipped the puck over Chornomydz to make it 2–0.
Despite outshooting the Monarchs 15–10 in the opening period, the Nighthawks headed to the dressing room trailing by two.
Second Period
The Nighthawks came out with considerably more jump in the second period and got back to playing the type of hockey they’ve become known for.
The physical play also picked up, resulting in a parade to the penalty box for both teams throughout the opening 10 minutes of the period.
Midway through the frame, Niverville found itself on a 4-on-3 power play, and with the extra open ice, the Nighthawks finally solved Meirau.
Edwards, who finished the night with 10 shots on goal, found his spot in the right circle, took a pass from Saul Astill and ripped a shot past Mierau to cut the Winnipeg lead to 2–1.
The goal ignited the more than 700 fans inside the CRRC who had been waiting for a reason to explode.
They didn’t have to wait long for another.
Just over a minute later, Ryker Rougeau found some open space in the slot, received a perfect pass from Luke Curtin and quickly snapped a shot past Mierau to tie the game at two.
For Rougeau, it was his first career MJHL goal.
With just over five minutes remaining in the period and momentum firmly shifting toward Niverville, Monarchs captain Jonah Vanderhorst dropped the gloves with Judd Pesch in a spirited fight that saw both players land some good shots and brought the crowd to its feet once again.
Niverville outshot Winnipeg 12–5 in the second period and headed into the final frame tied 2–2.
Third Period
Edwards gave the Nighthawks their first lead of the night just over five minutes into the third period — and he did it with the type of goal Niverville fans have become accustomed to seeing from him.
While on the power play, Edwards picked off a Winnipeg clearing attempt and walked into the slot uncontested.
From between the circles, he snapped a shot off the inside of the post and just under the crossbar for his second goal of the night, putting Niverville ahead 3–2.
Winnipeg had an opportunity to respond with a power play of its own just minutes later, but instead it was the Nighthawks who capitalized.
Returning veteran Rykan Arran stole the puck from Idris Alameddine near the red line and broke in alone on Mierau. Arran lifted a backhand over the Winnipeg goaltender for a shorthanded goal, extending Niverville’s lead to 4–2 just before the midway point of the third.
Rookie Anthony Bedard rounded out the scoring, redirecting a Jaden Mah shot from the point for his first career MJHL goal, giving the Nighthawks a 5–2 lead.
Niverville dominated the final period, outshooting Winnipeg 17–3 while shutting things down defensively and capitalizing on its offensive opportunities.
After surrendering two goals in the opening period, the Nighthawks scored five unanswered to open their season with a 5–2 victory.
Game Stats
Niverville outshot Winnipeg 44–18 overall, including 29–8 over the final two periods.
Marlen Edwards led the way with three points — two goals and an assist — in his season debut. Edwards also fired a game-high 10 shots on goal.
Rykan Arran scored his first goal of the season while shorthanded. Arran had one shorthanded goal last season.
Niverville finished 2-for-5 on the power play, while Winnipeg went 1-for-6.
Ben Chornomydz picked up his first win of the season, stopping 16-of-18 shots. After allowing two goals in the opening 13:39, Chornomydz shut the door the rest of the way. In 20 starts last season, Chornomydz allowed more than two goals in a game just once.
Luke Curtin recorded the first points of his MJHL career with a pair of assists.
Ryker Rougeau and Anthony Bedard each scored their first career MJHL goals in the victory.
The Nighthawks announced their leadership group before the game. Â Parker Rolston was named captain, while Marlen Edwards, Tyler Bernier and Cole Bies were named Assistant Captains.
Coach’s thoughts
Nighthawks head coach Dwight Hirst said seeing the championship banners raised inside the CRRC was a special moment for the organization.
“It’s special. It’s something that the boys can look up and see now and understand that the standards are being set, and it’s also nice for the MJHL as well to see another Centennial Cup banner in a rink in the MJ.”
Despite trailing by two after the opening 20 minutes, Hirst felt his team had generated enough opportunities to stay confident.
“We probably could have had a couple of our own in the first period, but those are the bounces that you don’t get sometimes. But it’s about staying positive and staying even-keeled and taking care of the little details”
