Nipawin Hawks Head Coach Doug Johnson shows his disgust with a two-handed door slam at his bench before he was tossed out by the on-ice officials. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Hawks' Criticism

‘The officials were [expletive]’: Hawks don’t mince words after loss to Bombers

Nov 23, 2019 | 2:08 PM

Friday marked one of the most emotional and spirited Junior A Hockey tilts at Centennial Arena in recent memory.

The Nipawin Hawks and Flin Flon Bombers were tied 3-3 halfway through the third period, with both teams only separated by three points in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) standings.

After nearly 50 minutes of rough, back and forth hockey with a good share of penalties for both squads, a goaltender interference penalty and game misconduct to Hawks forward Jordan Simoneau didn’t sit well with head coach Doug Johnson.

When what were believed to be a couple of non-calls going the Bombers’ way, Johnson threw off his blazer and had an extended conversation with the game’s on-ice officials before rallying a raucous Hawks faithful.

Three minutes later, Hawks defenceman Jack Lenchyshyn was given a roughing penalty, which set off Johnson once more. The officials gave him a bench-minor and ejected him from the game, leaving his assistant Mark Chase to take over the bench.

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The Hawks killed off a 5-on-3 Bombers power play – which got one of the loudest reactions from Nipawin fans that evening – but moments later Bombers defenceman Mason Martin beat goaltender Dalton Dosch for the eventual game winning goal.

Johnson did not mince his words post-game.

“The officials were [expletive],” Johnson told northeastNOW. “I think we’re pissed off because the officials played a part in the game and they never should. It was an embarrassing game for the officials and I’m disappointed for the league.”

“We made some mistakes. Our defencemen cost us three goals big time and they have to be better, but at the end of the day we should have been rewarded and we weren’t.”

The Bombers had a 9-3 power play advantage in the game, with a 4-0 advantage in the third period.

Frustrating occurrence

Dating back to Oct. 18, the Hawks are now 2-4-1 in games where they have held a two-goal lead at some point.

The Hawks started strong with rookie Sawyer Senior tapping in his first career SJHL goal, WHL veteran Zach Cox scoring on a wrist shot from the right circle, and Carson Erhardt putting back the rebound on the power play. Along with three killed penalties and attentive goaltending from Dosch, the Hawks had a stellar recipe for their 3-0 lead.

Then two quick Bombers goals in nine seconds made it 3-2 in the second period. Johnson didn’t think the two quick goals killed momentum as his Hawks still produced scoring chances. He added that looking from afar, he felt if the Hawks killed the late 5-on-3 power play they would win the game, but it will happen next go around.

“Guys have to figure it out,” he said. “You look at most of the mistakes (tonight) and they stem from our backend. Our backend is good but we play bad. Sometimes you don’t make a save, sometimes it’s a bad angle, sometimes it’s this or that, but tonight is the backend. A lot of the time it was breakout passes.”

“We just got to get better. We have the talent we just have to play better.”

The Hawks now sit seventh in the SJHL standings with a 14-11-2 record for 30 points in 27 games. They’ll host the Humboldt Broncos at Centennial Arena on Friday, Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0, Hawks, Sawyer Senio (1) from Andrew Schaab (1) and Brodie Girod (7), 10:41

2-0, Hawks, Zach Cox (7) from Andrew Schaab (2) and Max Johnson (11), 17:30

Second Period

3-0, Hawks, Carson Erhardt (9) from Michael Makarenko (11) and Bronson Adams (7) (power play), 5:37

3-1, Bombers, Tristan Lemyre (7) from Alec Malo (34) and Mason Martin (14) (power play), 8:17

3-2, Bombers, Billy Klymchuk (4) from Reid Robertson (5) and Matt Raymond (2), 8:26

Third Period

3-3, Bombers, Reid Robertson (5) from Billy Klymchuk (10), 3:37

4-3, Bombers, Mason Martin (5) from Reid Robertson (6) and Billy Klymchuk (11), 15:30

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow