Hawks strong start fades in loss to North Stars

The shots after the first period were 11-6 in favour of Nipawin. Kozun said missing key chances continues to plague his club, even dating back to last year.

“We had our chances to score, we have to hit the net,” he added. “It’s the same song and dance we talked about even last year; you get those opportunities in the slot you have to make it count. At least make the goalie make a save.”

The final shots ended 28 to 27 in favour of the Hawks, who also outshot the Mustangs by one on Friday night. Hawks rookie goaltender Madex Kabrud stopped 23 shots, many in spectacular fashion over the final two periods to keep the Hawks within striking distance before an empty net goal sealed the North Stars victory.

Despite the winless weekend on the road Kozun remains positive with the group to start the year. He said finding consistency and playing through a full game eluded the Hawks this weekend.

“Any team can beat any team on any given night, you’ve got to be ready to play, and you must play a full 60-minutes. Unfortunately, we haven’t put a full 60 together yet so we’ve got to find a way to put a full 60 together. I like our team a lot, but until we do that, we are going to keep riding the ups-and-downs. We need to find it soon,” Kozun said.

Nipawin will now prepare for their home opener on Sept. 25 against the Warman Wolverines. Warman split their opening weekend with the Humboldt Broncos. Now in their second year with plenty of returnees, Kozun knows the Hawks can’t take the Wolverines lightly, despite dominating them a season ago.

“We learned a lot about our team this weekend. On Monday we will start preparing for Warman and be ready for them at the ‘Cage’ on Friday night,” he concluded.

The Hawks are holding the first ever ‘Par 3 Shoot-Out’ at the Evergreen Golf Course in Nipawin on Thursday (Sept.24). The format is a par-3 with 18 chances to win cash with a hole-in-one. Four holes will feature $50,000 prizes for an ace; the other 14 holes are $10,000 prizes.

The deadline to register is Tuesday at 12 p.m. Email NipawinHawksGolf@Gmail.com

by Clark Stork

Hawks strong start fades in loss to North Stars

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