The Niverville Nighthawks put up another strong showing on Sunday night as they dispatched the Winnipeg Blues by an 8–3 score.
With the win, the Nighthawks improve to 8–7–0 on the season, which is good for fourth place in the MJHL’s East Division. Even better, the Nighthawks extended their lead on the last playoff spot over the fifth-place Blues to five points.
“Getting two points in October means just as much as two points in March, so our goal is definitely to make the playoffs with this squad,” said Nighthawks head coach Kelvin Cech. “Josh Paulhus came off the ice after a goal tonight and said, ‘That’s playoff net habits right there.’ And that’s something we talk about all the time. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but all of a sudden we’re 15 games in and it’s not early in the season anymore. So it was a big statement win for us.”
The Nighthawks dominated the Blues from start to finish. And what’s better is that the offence was spread around to all of the team’s lines. Brendan Bottem led the way with two goals, while other goals on the night came from Gavin Gunderson, Ethan Kelly, Eric Martin, Carter Spirig, Merik Boles, and Desmond Johnson.
Ethan Kadatz stopped 24 of 27 shots in goal for the Nighthawks.
16-year-old Liam Goertzen from Homewood, Manitoba made his debut for the Nighthawks on the evening and put in a respectable showing.
“I’ve had the pleasure of coaching both of his older brothers, and the whole family has such great character, and they work hard,” said Cech. “So for Liam to come in at 16 and contribute tonight is spectacular. Some of our older guys had a slow start to the game, and it was that young line of Merik Boles, Hayden Wheddon, and Liam that played well early and got us going.”
Speaking of Merik Boles, the 17-year-old from Lorette was finally rewarded for his strong play this season when he potted his first career MJHL goal.
“For Merik, he works so hard, and he’s a quiet kid,” Cech said. “But he’s a student of the game, and it’s tough because he’s also still a student in high school. He has a busy workload, but he manages it well. Merik has been good on the wing and is an excellent penalty killer. The guys went bonkers when he scored because he really means a lot to them, so we’re really excited for him.”
The Nighthawks don’t play again until Friday, when they head off on a three-game road trip. On Friday night (November 4), they will do battle with the Swan Valley Stampeders, followed by the OCN Blizzard the next night. After a two-day break, the Nighthawks will head to Selkirk to face the Steelers.
“We’re happy to get on the road, as the travel in this league is so awesome,” Cech said. “The guys love to go stay in a hotel and just worry about hockey for a weekend. It’s going to be nice to get up there, but that’s two strong teams in OCN and Swan Valley. So for us, it starts with a good week of practice and then we’ll hit the road for the Friday night game.”
In other Nighthawks news, the MJHL will host a Top Prospects Showcase from November 15–16 at Stride Place in Portage la Prairie. Players from around the league have been invited to participate. They’ll play two full games during this high-performance event in front of scouts.
Three Nighthawks have been selected to take part in the showcase, and that’s Brett Tataryn, Josh Paulhus, and Carson Reed.