Ty Dilello
On Sunday evening on the road, the Niverville Nighthawks earned a big 5–2 win over the Winnipeg Blues. The Nighthawks remain in fourth place in the MJHL’s East Division with a record of 17–11–1.
It was a game in which the Nighthawks never trailed. They got first period goals from Luke Mackenzie, Brendan Bottom, and Michael Tanchak. By the time the first frame ended, Niverville led 3–1 and didn’t look back.
In the second period, the two teams traded goals, with Adam Vigfusson scoring his third of the season for the Nighthawks. Niverville captain Brett Tataryn scored his tenth goal in the third period.
Keegan Gordon stopped 24 shots in goal for the win.
“I would say we just stuck to our gameplan tonight,” said Brendan Bottem. “We wanted to have a better start against these guys, and I think we did that today. I would say we played a solid 60 minutes, and we just found a way to get a win. It’s always fun winning games, and it definitely felt good to win this one after they beat us a couple of days ago.”
Bottem has been impressed with the play of Nighthawks newcomer Luke Mackenzie, who joined the team earlier this week after a trade with the Virden Oil Capitals.
“Luke has fit in great with our group so far,” said Bottem. “He’s come in and made an impact right away, scoring two goals in his first two games with us.”
The Nighthawks are back in action with a road game on the night of Wednesday, December 13 against the first-place Steinbach Pistons. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m.
“We have to play a complete 60 minutes moving forward if we want to get wins. There is no room for error in this league, so we have to make sure we are ready every shift.”