The Niverville Nighthawks got back into the win column with a big 7–4 victory over the Winnipeg Freeze on Wednesday night at the CRRC. With the win, the Nighthawks stay in fourth place in the MJHL’s East Division with a 13–10–1 record.
Brendan Bottem opened the scoring for Niverville just three minutes in, but it turned out to be a bit of a sluggish start for the home team as they gave up a couple of goals late in the period to trail 2–1.
Niverville turned it around in the second period with three goals in a minute and a half from Hayden Wheddon, Bryce Warkentine, and Brendan Bottem. The Nighthawks rolled from there and got additional goals in the final period from Desmond Johnson and Isaac Rentmeester, who scored twice.
“We made life difficult for us in the first period, as there were some mistakes,” said head coach Kelvin Cech. “But the guys did a great job of responding and had the best start they could possibly have in the second period after a little bit of frustration in the dressing room at the first intermission. They came out and responded really well, and just dug in from there, so we were encouraged from the next two periods.”
“I think we came out flat in the first period, but we came out and played solid in the second and third period to get the job done,” said Brendan Bottem. “It’s always nice to score goals and contribute to the team. My teammates gave me two great passes on my goals, so I couldn’t do it without them.”
Ethan Kadatz made his first start in goal for the Nighthawks in about a month and made the most of his opportunity, stopping 17 shots for the win.
“We’ve got two good goaltenders, and Ethan had a bit of time off there,” said Cech. “So he came back in, and I was excited for him that he got the win.”
The Nighthawks return to the ice this weekend for a back-to-back against the Waywayseecappo Wolverines on December 2–3. The action begins on Friday night at the CRRC at 7:30 p.m.
“I’ve talked to Waywayseecappo’s GM/coach a lot over the past few years, and he’s done a really good job there with that team,” said Cech. “They play the right way and are a strong program in our league, so we have some things to work on right away tomorrow at practice and then it’s a big weekend for us.”
“We’ve got to have a good practice tomorrow and have a better start than we had today,” added Bottem. “We haven’t seen Waywayseecappo this year, but they’ve been on a roll lately, so we will have our work cut out for us.”
Nighthawks Fight Cancer
Finally, fans can now bid on jerseys worn by the players for the team’s first annual Nighthawks Fight Cancer game. The Nighthawks are proud to support Manitoba Cancer Charities. All proceeds will go towards cancer research.
Please help the team raise critical funds by participating in its auction or by making a donation. The online auction will close at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 3. For information about the auction items and delivery, please contact tickets@mjhlnighthawks.ca.