Ty Dilello
The Niverville Nighthawks once again found themselves on the losing side of things on Saturday night, falling 6–3 to the Virden Oil Capitals at the CRRC. With the loss, the Nighthawks stay in fourth place in the MJHL’s East Division with a record of 23–20–4.
Virden came out firing right from the start and proved why they are one of the MJHL’s top teams. The Oil Capitals scored three times in the first period to jump out to a 3–0 lead and cruised the rest of the way, adding a pair of goals in the second period and one more in the third period.
The Nighthawks’ scoring came from the likes of Kaycee Coyle, Michael Debrito, and Avery Laliberte, but it wasn’t enough.
“It wasn’t anything in particular tonight,” said head coach Dwight Hirst. “We just can’t come out in the first period and spot a first-place team a 3–0 lead and get out shot 16–4.”
With only one win in the last nine games for Niverville, Hirst believes the team can still climb its way out of this hole and hang on to the final playoff spot.
“Habits and habits, they dictate your outcome,” he said. “We’ve got to learn quickly here that winning the defensive zone and neutral zone enables you to contain teams. You take care of those items and you can play in the offensive zone.”
The Nighthawks are back in action with a road game on February 19 against the Portage Terriers. The puck drops at 4:00 p.m.