The Nipawin Hawks and Red Wings will meet for the second Friday in a row, this time at Crescent Point Place in Weyburn. (Clark Stork/northeastNOW Staff)

By Clark Stork

Southern Swing

Hawks begin three game road trip in Weyburn Friday

Feb 21, 2025 | 10:02 AM

The Nipawin Hawks have nine games remaining in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) season against nine different opponents including three this weekend.

Nipawin is in Weyburn Friday, meets Estevan Saturday and will play their final game against the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox on Sunday afternoon wrapping up a three-game road trip. Head Coach Tad Kozun said scheduling a late season overnight trip is usually part of the offseason scheduling plan.

“It will be nice to get out with the guys again and get on the bus and spend a few days out of town,” Kozun said Friday morning as the team prepared for the weekend. “It’s always nice to get one of these in late in the year, guys can spend quality time together. The biggest thing for us, just keep playing the way we have been.”

The Hawks are not going to the SJHL playoffs, the club was mathematically eliminated last week. Nipawin has been playing better of late winning three of their last six and picking up a shootout loss in the stretch as well. Kozun said finishing strong has been a mandate imposed over the last several weeks among the group.

“When we look as February as a whole now, I thought we’ve been playing some pretty good hockey. We are taking those next steps we need to. With nine games left and three this weekend, we can’t take our foot off the pedal,” he added.

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With just two 20-year-old players on the roster set to age out of junior hockey, this will be the final extended road trip for this current group. Many will be back in Nipawin looking to return to the postseason and an improved club, but many will not return. Kozun said he wants his players to enjoy the trip as a group, but hockey can’t take a backseat.

“You have to go out and enjoy it, but we also want to make sure we continue to build this. We just have to continue playing the right way. We’ve figured out how you must play in this league right now to get wins and be successful. I know we haven’t won every one, but they have been tight hockey games from the start until the end,” Kozun concluded.

Friday’s game at Crescent Point Place against Weyburn begins at 7 p.m., and the pregame show of Nipawin Chrysler Dodge Hawks Hockey begins at 6:45 p.m. The Hawks played Weyburn at home on Feb. 14 suffering a 1-0 loss. The prior two matchups were blowouts with the Red Wings winning 6-2 and 9-1.

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clark.stork@pattisonmedia.com