The Niverville Nighthawks gave it a hard-fought effort on New Year’s Eve, but in the end the Steinbach Pistons got the best of them. With the loss, the Nighthawks stay in fourth place in the MJHL’s East Division with a record of 20–11–2.
Steinbach always led, jumping out to 2–0 early in the second period. Avery Laliberte got one back for Niverville before Steinbach quickly scored to make it 3–1.
That’s when Nighthawks newcomer Sean Williams got on the board to make it 3–2 in his debut with the team.
In the third period, Steinbach pulled away with a trio of goals, although Adam Vigfusson ultimately did score one more time. When all was said and done, the game ended 6–3 in Steinbach’s favour.
Niverville’s Austin Dubinsky stopped 31 shots in goal for the loss.
“It was a pretty good game, and against a team like Steinbach you just can’t take any minutes off,” says Nighthawks head coach Dwight Hirst. “They were able to pull away late in the third period with a power play goal and we just weren’t able to get it done.”
That said, the Nighthawks organization is thrilled with the recent acquisition of Williams, a dynamic forward who scored 20 points in 28 games this season with the Elmira Aviators of the NAHL. Last year, he scored 52 points in 57 games with the Waywayseecappo Wolverines.
Williams will be headed to Robert Morris University later this fall on a Division 1 hockey scholarship, so the Nighthawks are very happy to be able to add this talented player midway through the season.
“Anytime you can bolster your offence with a player like him, you’re very happy,” says Hirst. “Sean is going to be a welcome addition to our team and the transition looks to be seamless so far as he had a goal and an assist tonight in his debut.”
The Nighthawks are back in action on January 3 with a home game against the Selkirk Steelers. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
