The Niverville Nighthawks continued their red-hot play on Tuesday night, erupting for six unanswered goals in a commanding 6–1 road win over the Selkirk Steelers.
Earlier this week, the Nighthawks took over the #1 spot in the Canadian Junior Hockey League rankings as the top junior team in the nation. And on Tuesday night, they continued to show why they deserved to be there.
Entering the matchup with points in 17 straight contests and an MJHL-best 23–1–1 record, the Nighthawks found themselves challenged early by a Selkirk squad riding momentum from a big Sunday afternoon victory over the Steinbach Pistons. The Steelers struck first late in the opening frame when captain Owen Brandson converted a feed from Carter Haney to put Selkirk up 1–0.
From that point on, it was all Niverville.
Captain Adam Vigfusson once again led the way for Niverville, scoring a hat trick in the second period to flip the game on its head. His three-goal performance extended his point streak to 10 games, during which he has amassed 22 points (13 goals, 9 assists).
Vigfusson opened the scoring for Niverville just over five minutes into the second, receiving a cross ice pass from Parker Carrier in the right circle, faking out a defender, and sliding the puck blocker-side past Selkirk goaltender Ethan Sawyer to even the game at one.
Three minutes later, John Scott buried his tenth of the season off a gorgeous backhand feed from Loik Leduc, giving the Nighthawks a lead they would not relinquish. The goal was Scott’s third in his last two games.
Leduc would finish the night with three assists—his second three-helper game this season.
Vigfusson struck again on the power play less than two minutes later, finishing a setup from Merik Boles, who picked up his twenty-second assist of the year, which is sixth most in the MJHL.
Just over a minute after that, Dawson Zeller pushed the lead to 4–1 with his sixth of the season, jumping on a loose puck created by a strong faceoff win and net drive from Leduc.
Vigfusson completed the hat trick with another power-play marker late in the period, finishing a perfect cross-crease feed from Hayden Wheddon, whose two assists on the night lifted him to a league-leading 29.
Extending Streaks
Wheddon’s performance extended his point streak to 16 games (nine goals, 30 points), while his 44 points keep him atop the MJHL scoring race. Vigfusson sits just behind him with 41.
In the third period, Calyb Moore added the final goal, extending his own point streak to five games (12 points). Evan Panzer, who earned the primary assist, also stretched his streak to five games and now has eight points (seven goals, one assist) in that span.
With their strong play as of late, the MJHL on Monday recognized both Panzer and Moore by naming them MJHL stars of the week.
Between the pipes, Ben Chornomydz turned aside 21 of 22 shots in his sixth start of the year, improving to a perfect 6–0–0. The 18-year-old from Sanford has yet to allow more than two goals in any of his starts this season.
Looking Ahead
With the win, the Nighthawks improved to 3–0 against Selkirk this season, with another meeting between the two clubs set for December 19 at the CRRC.
But first Niverville returns home tonight to host the Portage Terriers. The Terriers were ranked eighth in the most recent CJHL rankings. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.