For the second straight year, the Niverville Nighthawks had an up-and-down season. When they were playing well, the Nighthawks were hard to beat. They played strong and looked like one of the best teams in the MJHL.
But when things went south on the scoreboard, there were some very dark days for the Niverville club in their sophomore campaign.
All in all, though, the Nighthawks franchise had a solid second year. The future continues to look bright for the best show in town.
To start off the year, the Nighthawks had an effective good preseason, winning three games and losing twice. Coming into the season, head coach Kelvin Cech noted that the club had some clear goals over the summer for being a little heavier and a little faster, in particular on the walls and winning those key battles.
“We recruited some powerful young wingers up front who are doing a great job on the wall and winning the blue lines,” said Cech in September.
When the regular season began, the Nighthawks flew out of the gate. The high-scoring team won six of their first eight games and kept their foot on the gas. For the first couple of months of the season, the Nighthawks were consistently among the league’s top teams.
The Nighthawks got lots of scoring from the likes of Kaycee Coyle, Michael DeBrito, Ty Kennett, Brendan Bottem, Nathan Brown, Michael Tanchak, and the team’s captain Brett Tataryn. Other key players like Carter Spirig, Ethan Kelly, Avery Laliberte, and Merik Boles did a great job night in and night out at shutting down their opponents’ top lines.
However, the biggest x-factor in the Nighthawks’ early success last fall was the play of rookie goaltender Raiden LeGall, who stood on his head night in and night out. LeGall finished the season with a 20–14–0 record with a 2.43 goals-against average and .920 save percentage.
The Nighthawks got an interesting jolt to their season when Cech, Brown, and physiotherapist Justin Giesbrecht were selected to join Team Canada West at the 2023 World Junior A Hockey Challenge in Truro, Nova Scotia, in mid-December.
Canada West snuck into the playoff round with only a single win in the preliminary round. They went on to stun the undefeated United States in overtime in the semifinals. They then beat Team Canada East in the gold medal game, roaring out to a 7–2 victory and capping off a fairytale run.
“I had a great time in Truro, as I got to play with some of the top players in the west of the CJHL and got to play against international talent, which was a first for me, as well as playing a pretty stacked American roster,” said Brown. “It was also awesome to have my parents and my older brother make the journey and watch the weeklong tournament.”
Unfortunately, for the second straight year, the Nighthawks’ hot start came to a screeching halt when the players returned from the Christmas break.
For the next two months, the team struggled to be competitive. They nearly fell out of the playoff picture entirely.
On February 10, the second annual Nighthawks Red Carpet Gala was held at the Heritage Centre in Niverville. The fundraising event brought hundreds of attendees out, with guests being treated to a full course of appetizers, entrees, wine, and dessert, not to mention an evening chock full of entertainment.
The evening’s keynote speaker was Ray Neufeld, a former local NHL forward with the Winnipeg Jets and Hartford Whalers in the 1980s.
Shortly after, the team had yet another jolt. The board of directors announced their decision to let go their head coach and general manager in an attempt to turn the season around.
“We want to thank Kelvin for his significant role in developing and building the MJHL’s newest franchise,” read a press release from the organization. “We wish you all the best, Kelvin.”
At this point in mid-February, Niverville was in the middle of a very deep slide, with the team holding a 3–7–1 record since the Christmas break.
“Upon the recommendation of hockey operations, we made the decision to relieve our head coach/general manager,” said Clarence Braun at the time, the chair of the team’s board of directors. “The trend within the past three weeks was not good. We had a difficult post-Christmas last year, but we were at the least competitive. This year we were getting blown out and that was unacceptable. It’s all about players competing and not necessarily winning. We were not competing.”
At the same time as Cech’s firing, the Nighthawks also announced that Mike McAulay had accepted the interim role of general manager. Furthermore, the organization hired Dwight Hirst to serve as interim coach for the remainder of the season.
The 44-year-old Hirst had an extensive history playing hockey in the MJHL, USHL, and NCAA Division 1 and 3. He also played for the University of Manitoba Bisons. He had finished his career playing senior hockey for the Lac du Bonnet Blues of the MEHL.
Before being hired by Niverville, Hirst also served as the head coach of the Eastman Selects U18 AAA team for four seasons.
“The first week on the job, with four games in six days, would be tough for any coach,” said Hirst. “Only one practice before the first game and also only one practice before the next three games. But I wouldn’t change that week at all. It showed everyone in the organization what the underlying issues were, and from that week forward we made adjustments and corrected the way the team approached things.”
Forward Brendan Bottom concurs that this was a tumultuous time for the team.
“The coaching change was definitely hard at first,” Bottom said. “It was a big culture shock at first, especially midway during the year.”
However, in the coming weeks the team was able to bounce back.
Climbing out of the hole they’d dug for themselves, the Nighthawks secured a 7–2 record in their last nine games and narrowly earned the last playoff berth in the MJHL’s East Division.
“We were able to grow and mature heading down the stretch to playoffs,” said Hirst.
At the end of the regular season, the club handed out its team awards to a range of key players. First, the team’s departing 20-year-olds were recognized: Alex Walicki, Michael Debrito, Colin Whaley, Josh Danis, Brendan Bottom, Michael Tanchak (assistant captain), and Brett Tataryn (captain).
The year’s best defenceman award went to Kaycee Coyle (assistant captain), whereas the best forward was Michael Debrito. The most outstanding first-year player was a tie between Raiden LeGall and Nathan Brown.
Other awards included the Fan Favourite Award (Ty Kennett), Coaches’ Choice Award (Colin Whaley), Humanitarian Award (Carter Spirig), Three Stars Award (Raiden LeGall) and Most Valuable Player (Kaycee Coyle).
In the first round of the playoffs, the Nighthawks met up with the top-seeded Steinbach Pistons. Although the hometown heroes were promptly swept in four straight games, Hirst noted that the team learned a lot from playing in those high-intensity games.
“Everyone in the organization and everyone in the day-to-day operation got that experience of how it goes in the playoffs,” said Hirst. “The returning players have gained that experience and confidence from being a part of a series. We all have to take in those moments, because it’s another stepping stone for this program.”
“It was a fun season,” said Bottom, looking back at the campaign as a whole. “I would say we were successful in making the playoffs for the second year in a row. Obviously, it didn’t end the way we wanted, but I think the future is really bright in Niverville.”
Both Hirst and Bottem note that the Nighthawks need to become more consistent night in and night out if the franchise ultimately wants to take the next step and become one of the higher-echelon teams in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
“I would say just being more consistent,” said Bottem. “This year, when we were on our game, we were a top team. On the flip side, when we were struggling, we could lose to anyone. So I would say just finding more consistency.”
“It’s all about building a strong program, and it got a little stronger again after our push to make the playoffs and competing in them,” said Hirst. “The ability of getting another MJHL draft under our belt, too, this June will give us another level of depth and identity that will be on display next season. Drafting, developing, and getting players to conform to the Nighthawks standards will be how we continue to get better.”
Hirst is hopeful that he may yet be able to take the Nighthawks to that next level and stick around for the rest of this process as the new head coach. Those decisions will be made in the upcoming weeks by the team’s board of directors.
Once the board makes their choice and gives direction to the future head coach and general manager, there will be a lot of work done to ensure the Nighthawks are ready to step up in the fall.
For 20-year-old Bottem, who has now aged out of junior hockey, he will now be going to college. He also hopes to play college hockey, although the specifics have yet to be determined.
“I loved my two years in Niverville. I was blessed with a great coaching staff, trainers, billets, etc.,” said Bottem. “I can’t thank everyone enough. It was fun to play in front of the best fans in the league. Niverville is a place I’m going to miss, and I can’t thank everyone enough for making it a special two years for me.”
