A six-point performance from Hayden Wheddon powered the Niverville Nighthawks to a dominant 9–1 victory over the Portage Terriers Wednesday night at the CRRC, extending their winning streak to four games.
From the opening puck drop, Niverville dictated the pace. The Nighthawks outshot Portage 14–4 in the first period and hemmed the Terriers in their own zone for extended stretches.
Terriers goaltender Donavan Bodnar kept the game scoreless early with several key stops, but Wheddon broke through with just under three minutes remaining in the opening frame. A goal-mouth scramble ended with the puck slipping behind Bodnar to give the home side a 1–0 lead.
Just 29 seconds later, Wheddon struck again. After Merik Boles set up Ryken Arran in front, Arran’s shot produced a rebound that Wheddon snapped home blocker-side to double the advantage.
The crowd of just over 600 was anticipating another goal for Wheddon in the second period, and they didn’t have to wait long. Only 59 seconds in, Jase Konecsni fired a perfect stretch pass from in front of his own net, sending Wheddon in alone behind the Terriers’ defence. His shot from the left circle was partially blocked, fooling Bodnar as it trickled through his legs for a 3–0 lead.
The Terriers responded when MJHL goal-scoring leader Trevor Hill capitalized on a defensive breakdown. Set up by Dylan Karran, Hill found himself all alone in front of Austin Dubinsky and beat him glove-side to cut the lead to 3–1 with his thirty-seventh of the season.
Niverville answered swiftly just after the midway point of the period. John Scott redirected a Konecsni slapshot at the top of the crease to restore the three-goal cushion at 4–1.
Late in the second period, it was déjà vu for Niverville. This time it was Krestanowich who sent Wheddon in alone on a breakaway with another perfect pass, and Wheddon made no mistake, finishing on the backhand for his fourth goal of the night and a 5–1 lead heading into the third.
Niverville blew the game wide open in the final frame, scoring four unanswered goals. Kole Mears, Marlen Edwards, and Boles struck in a rapid 1:21 span, with Boles adding another to cap the scoring.
Despite the offensive explosion, head coach Hirst emphasizes that the foundation of the team’s recent success has been attention to detail at both ends of the ice.
“That’s the biggest part of our identity is how hard we want to be to play against,” Hirst says. “Going up north, it was a perfect time for us to get out of town and work on those details. For us, we’re a team that leads the league in fewest goals against and we take a lot of pride in that.”
The lopsided win was especially rewarding after a recent stretch of tight losses.
“It was nice to see the guys get rewarded tonight, because in that stretch where we had a few losses they were one-goal games. We could see the guys were gripping it a bit. I feel we are a lot closer to being back on the rails, both offensively and defensively, and it’s nice to see.”
Dubinsky turned aside 14 of 15 shots he faced to earn his league-leading thirtieth win of the season.
Wheddon’s six-point performance, a career high and his second hat trick of the year, moves him within two goals of Hill for top spot in the MJHL goal-scoring race. His two assists give him 50 on the season, and his MJHL-leading 85 points put him 13 ahead of Winkler’s Niklas Gudmundson.
The Nighthawks return to action Friday when the Swan Valley Stampeders visit the CRRC, followed by Waywayseecappo on Saturday. Puck drop for both games is set for 7:30 p.m.
See below for the game’s highlight reel.