Nighthawks fly into Centennial Cup semi-finals

The Niverville Nighthawks chances of winning the Centennial Cup took a massive step forward May 12 in Summerside, P.E.I.

Across the modern history of the tournament, no team has lifted the championship trophy without first winning their five-team group and earning a bye straight to the semi-finals. The Manitoba Junior Hockey League-winning Nighthawks did just that a day before their final game, defeating Alberta champions Canmore 6-4 to move to 3-0 with eight points, four points ahead of any team with games left to be played.

“It’s huge for the program, it’s huge for the families, it’s huge for the MJHL to have a team represented in the semi-finals,” head coach Dwight Hirst said after the game.

Team captain Adam Vigfusson stepped up, netting a hat trick for his team to give them a early second period 4-1 lead they managed to hold through a late Canmore surge. He got the game going with a bang, converting on a two-on-one pass from line-mate Hayden Wheddon.

“I think that’s the flattest sauce pass I’ve ever received,” Vigfusson said. “It was fortunate enough to land on my tape and I put it in the net.”

The goal came right after Aaron Krestanowich made a great play at his own blue line to stop a Canmore attack in its tracks. Niverville sticks were constantly breaking up plays all afternoon.

Hirst said he told the team before the game started they needed to play “all-in,” to beat the Eagles.

“Everything you have to do. Either get your body in the lane, get a stick in the lane. Something needs to be in the lane. You’ve got to take away pucks arriving at the net, you have to take away seam passes,” he said. “I thought the group did a great job of getting their sticks and their bodies, everything they had just to make sure plays were broken up.”

Hirst said he never lost faith his group would get the job done, even after a blown coverage on a bank off the back boards left Canmore a tap-in goal to make the game 4-3 in the third. Kole Mears responded immediately to restore the two-goal advantage.

“Like a chameleon, you adapt to your environment,” Hirst said. “You adapt to your environment and you just find a way to survive and get through it and come out with a victory. I’m very impressed.”

The Flin Flon Bombers appear to have a lot of work to do in group B, with three teams sitting on six points and two on three. The Bombers will play in the final game of the preliminary round against Maritime Hockey League champions Truro May 13, which they will probably need either help from another team or a blowout victory to advance to the playoffs.

The Nighthawks will round out their tournament tomorrow as well, facing off against Central Canada Hockey League champions Rockland.

“No game is a day off here,” starting goaltender Austin Dubinsky said. “We want to send a statement to everyone we’re not here to play around.”

DUBINSKY NAMED NATION’S TOP GOALIE

No matter what, Niverville’s top goaltender will be coming back from Summerside with some hardware, as Dubinsky was named the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s top goalie. The CJHL is an amalgamation of the country’s nine junior A leagues.

The Ardrossan, Alta. player was named the MJHL top goaltender and the playoff most valuable player, racking up a 12-1 record in the provincial playoffs this year.

It’s a deserving reward for a player who was unexpectedly pushed into a starting role after Raiden LeGall left the team mid-way through last season to join the Everett Silvertips.

“I can’t thank my teammates enough,” Dubinsky said. “They’ve been truly amazing. I can’t score goals, I can only save them. They put a lot behind the other goalies and that’s made it pretty easy for me this year.”

Vigfusson turned the praise right back to the netminder.

“(Dubinsky) deserves all the credit, he’s worked so hard, he’s the backbone of our team,” Vigfusson said. “If defensive lapses happen, it’s okay, we can count on the best goalie in the CJHL.”

Hirst credited the goaltender’s success with a strong work ethic that came with growing up in a farming family.

“It’s always instilled that you’ve got to really push through the environment,” Hirst said. “Sometimes you’ve got to do things when you don’t enjoy the environment because the environment doesn’t dictate how you do things on a farm. I think he really instills that in his own game… He just keeps pushing through.”