Hawks vs. Notre Dame (Clark Stork/northeastNOW)

By Clark Stork

Ice issue forces mid-game move

Change of venue doesn’t help Hawks in lengthy contest

Oct 5, 2021 | 9:52 AM

Nipawin Hawks Head Coach Doug Johnson has seen almost everything in a hockey rink, but Monday in Warman at the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) Showcase a mid-game move to a different arena was a first.

The Hawks match up with Notre Dame started as planned at the Legends Centre but an issue with the Zamboni and ice surface after the first intermission flood forced the league and officials to suspend the game due to safety concerns. Someone at ice level made the decision to move the game to the Warman Diamond Arena for its conclusion. The teams completed the game with the Hounds picking up a 7-4 victory. Johnson said after the game the situation was unique.

“I think I have said it before, it seems every year there’s something new. This year there has been a lot and today was no different where we had to change rinks in the middle of a game,” he told northeastNOW after the game.

Notre Dame scored twice in the first period and took a 5-0 lead before the midway point of the game after the move across the city. Johnson made no excuses for the result and expects more from his team going forward.

“We had a bad start then we come here and drop three quick ones, we do battle back a little bit, but you can’t win hockey games going down 5-0. You can’t blame the goalie, it’s the guys in front of him,” Johnson said.

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Nipawin did cut the lead to 5-4 thanks to a pair of second period goals from Carson Dobson and third period tallies off the sticks of Rylan Lefebvre and Christian Albertson but that was as close as the Hawks would get. The team has lost their last two games.

The game started at 1:30 p.m. and the final buzzer sounded at 5:44 p.m.

The Hawks will now prepare for Wednesday’s game at the Legends Centre against the Weyburn Red Wings. Faceoff is at 4:30 p.m.

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