Ty Dilello – The Niverville Citizen
The Nighthawks came up short against the Neepawa Titans by a score of 6–4 score at the CRRC on Wednesday evening.
The game could not have gotten off to a worse start for the Nighthawks, as Neepawa scored three times in the first period, twice on the power play and once while shorthanded.
Niverville was able to turn it around in the second period, with goals from Brett Tataryn and Gavin Gunderson.
Just when the Nighthawks were looking like they were about to tie the game, Neepawa scored on a long-range shot which seemed to deflate the home team a bit.
“We’re a resilient team and have come back from being down lots over the season,” said head coach Kelvin Cech. “It’s just hard to do. It says a lot about the character of our group, but we need to also find that resiliency when the score is 0–0.”
Neepawa scored early in the third period to make it 5–2, which put the game out of reach.
Braden Panzer was able to score twice in the game’s dying minutes, but it was too little too late as the Titans held on for the win.
Chris Fines stopped 17 shots in goal for the Nighthawks on the evening.
“It’s tough to start a game like that, as they scored a couple on the power play early, and it’s hard to chase a game like that,” said Cech. “Neepawa came in desperate and played well, and our game was not good enough. They’re very strong in the middle of the ice and defend well. We had a tough time generating offence, but we still scored four goals. Neepawa had a game plan and stuck with it and ended up with the two points.”
The Nighthawks are back in action on Friday, March 3 for a road game against the Dauphin Kings. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
“We’re looking forward to getting on the bus, as we have a fun time on the road,” Cech said. “And that’s a fun rink to play at in Dauphin. Sometimes it’s easier to go on the road, too, as there are some things you don’t have to worry about, like when playing at home. So we’re going to get back to work tomorrow and then get those two points on Friday.”