The Hawks and Red Wings will faceoff Wednesday in Nipawin as part of a three game schedule Wednesday in the SJHL. (Clark Stork/northeastNOW Staff)

By Clark Stork

Ground the Wings

Hawks host Weyburn Wednesday

Oct 16, 2024 | 12:14 PM

It’s wing Wednesday at the ‘Cage’ in Nipawin as the Hawks host Weyburn in Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) action.

The game will be the second time the Hawks and Red Wings have met this season, Weyburn won the first matchup 6-2 in Weyburn as the Hawks ended a three-game southern road swing with the loss. Nipawin hasn’t played since a 3-1 loss in Yorkton on Friday. Head Coach Tad Kozun said the team used the weekend for a pleasantly timed break.

“A rare weekend off but it came at a good time where we can kind of reset,” he said after the team’s gameday meeting. “We had a couple real good days of practice and got everybody into a routine of Nipawin now especially with the new guys we brought in so we’re looking forward to being back on home ice tonight.”

The Hawks have sputtered out of the gate with a 1-7-1 start, Weyburn also struggled at the start of the season losing their first four games but since then have won four in a row and put up 25 goals in the process with no less than six in any of the games. Kozun knows the Red Wings have added some talented veterans to their roster and the Hawks need to be prepared.

“They have a lot of additions there and they are obviously rolling right now. We must be ready and be at the top of our game. The big thing is we must be on the defensive side of them and not give them and not give them those extra opportunities and odd man rushes because they are obviously scoring pretty good right now,” Kozun explained.

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Nipawin was playing their third game in three days when the two clubs met on Oct. 5 at Crescent Point Place. The Hawks trailed that game 4-2 going to the third period and had several chances to cut the lead to one in the final frame. The Hawks failed to capitalize on some chances, the Red Wings did, opened the game up and took the game by a wide margin. Kozun knows his team can compete with the high-flying Wings and wants his eager group to jump on the bus-riddled Wings early.

“We had our chances and we’re right in that hockey game, they got a couple good bounces, and they ended up in the back of our net,” he said. “We’re rested, had a weekend off, we expect the guys to be ready to go tonight and be at our best.”

Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Centennial Arena.