The Hawks faceoff against the Estevan Bruins in Nipawin Friday on Teddy Bear Toss night at the 'Cage.' 9Clark Stork/northeastNOW Staff)

By Clark Stork

Teddy Bear Toss

Hawks host Bruins for back-to-back games; Friday is Teddy Bear toss night

Dec 8, 2023 | 12:30 PM

The Bruins will hibernate in Nipawin for a couple of days as the Hawks host Estevan for two Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) games starting Friday.

The teams met on Oct. 21 in Estevan; the Hawks won the game 2-1 in a shootout. Friday and Saturday’s meetings will be the only games between the clubs in 2023 with one more game scheduled in Estevan later this season.

The Hawks have won two straight games scoring a dozen goals in the process including Wednesday’s 6-1 drubbing of the Red Wings. Estevan was blanked 4-0 by Melfort at the start of their northern Saskatchewan road trip. Hawks Head Coach Tad Kozun liked his team’s effort in the win over Weyburn.

“It was a complete team effort, I thought Damon [Cunningham] was great in net. Getting the scoring putting up six, it was nice to see,” Kozun said Friday following his clubs’ gameday meeting.

One thing that ultimately impressed the Nipawin bench boss was his team’s third-period dominance scoring three times to take away any chance of a Weyburn comeback, something Hawks have allowed in games this season.

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“I liked our third period,” he expanded. “I thought we took care of the puck, we made sure to keep doing the little things right. When you are doing that stuff, you get rewarded, and we came out with the win.”

Nipawin has 14 wins on the season, Estevan has 11, and the teams are sitting in fifth place and ninth place respectively in the playoff race nearing the Christmas break. The five-point gap with three other teams right in the middle makes these two games crucial to the Hawks, something Kozun passed along to his players.

“We have to be ready for tonight, we know they are going to come hard. They are right there with us, so it’s going to be a good matchup, we’re looking forward to having them at the ‘Cage’ this weekend,” he said.

Faceoff on Friday and Saturday is 7 p.m.

Friday’s game is Teddy Bear Toss night and the Hawks’ annual Salvation Army food drive campaign.

Fans are asked to bring non-perishable food items to be donated and when Nipawin scores their first goal, the fans are asked to throw bagged stuffed animals onto the ice.

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clark.stork@pattisonmedia.com

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