Nighthawks remain undefeated at Centennial with barnburner 7-6 win over Rockland

The Niverville Nighthawks didn’t make it look easy, but they remained undefeated at the Centennial Cup, beating Central Canada Hockey League champions Rockland Nationals 7-6 in their final game of the preliminary round May 13 in Summerside P.E.I.

The game meant nothing in the table for both teams with Rockland unable to make the playoffs with any result and Niverville clinching top spot in their group thanks to a win over Alberta champions Canmore yesterday.

Nighthawks head coach Dwight Hirst said after the game it was a 1980s-style game between Calgary and Edmonton in the NHL and wasn’t about to take many lessons from the game

“There was a little bit too much cheat in the game, there was too much not caring, too much complacency I would say,” Hirst said.

“That’s one of those game tapes we’ll just burn it. Put it away and go ‘that’s a win.’ We’re not going to look anything into that game.”

Their strong spot in the standings allowed the Manitoba Junior Hockey League champions to flip their line-up against Rockland, inserting healthy scratches and playing back-up goalie Ben Chornomydz in net.

Dawson Zeller scored the winning goal with 3:33 to go in the third period, tapping home a pass from Kole Mears. Mears picked off an attempted breakout pass from the Nationals, setting up a two-on-none chance they easily converted for the win.

Max Dowse opened the scoring for the Nighthawks, when his shot on a breakaway trickled through Nationals goaltender Kayden Newton and over the goal-line. The 2008-born player from Niverville saw action in just 17 regular season MJHL games this year for his hometown team, netting two goals and three assists.

“The adrenaline was going there, I forechecked their (defender), got the puck and put it in the net,” Dowse said with a massive grin on his face after the game.

Dowse was one of the final picks made through the auto-protection system in the MJHL draft, which allowed franchises to reserve rights on local players. That system was ended alongside the draft.

“It means everything,” Dowse said when asked what it felt like to score for his hometown franchise in the Centennial Cup.

“I was just so excited when I got the call to play today. I just wanted to take advantage of it. I was super grateful.”

Adam Vigfusson was back on the scoresheet as well, finishing off a nice play in tight to deke around the netminder to tie the game at three in the second period, creating enough space to fall into the net himself for his seventh of the tournament. Vigfusson led the tournament in goals and points at the end of the game.

The Nighthawks’ top line of Vigfusson, Merik Boles and Hayden Wheddon lit up the MJHL this season and all three scored for the team against Rockland. The trio combined for 10 points in the win.

“They just elevated again,” Hirst said when asked about his top line.

“I know sometimes we’re looking at other teams’ top lines wondering how we’ll combat that and figure it out, I’d imagine other teams are going ‘what the heck do we have to do to stop that line…’ That top line has been sensational.”

Niverville’s skaters will take tomorrow off, sightseeing across P.E.I., while the team’s goaltenders see some shots in Summerside during the off day. They’ll be back on the ice for practice just before the start of the quarterfinals May 15.

By finishing first, the Nighthawks got to chose their semi-final slot, picking the 4 p.m. game May 16. Hirst said it was to minimize the time between the quarterfinal and the semi-final and maximize the time between the semi-final and potential final the next day.

BOMBERS ELIMINATED

The Flin Flon Bombers had a mountain to climb if they wanted to make the playoffs at the Centennial Cup and the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League champions gave it a good effort but couldn’t manage it.

Because Quebec champions Longueuil defeated Toronto in the first game of the day May 13, a Bombers victory would put them in a tie with Toronto and final opponents Truro. With the first tiebreaker goal difference between the tied teams, a 7-2 loss to Toronto in the second game of the tournament put Flin Flon in a tough position.

Just winning their final game of the day in regulation over the Truro Bearcats would just be enough to force a three-way tie for second in the group but if they wanted to climb above that, they needed to erase a that five goal difference. The Bombers stayed on pace through the first period with a pair of goals for a 2-0 lead, but a scoreless second period put them behind the clock, eventually winning just 3-1.

Bombers head coach Mike Reagan said he thought Toronto was going to defeat Longueuil and make a 3-1 win good enough. He looked back at a tough 1-0 loss to the Quebec champions in their first game of the tournament as the difference.

“I thought we played great in three out of the four games,” Reagan said after the game.

“We were the better team (against Longueuil). It’s unfortunate in a tournament like this that one bites you. I was hoping that it wouldn’t… If we take that to overtime, we’re sitting in a different position right now.”

Daniel Morozov struck on the powerplay with 8:35 to go in the third period to put Toronto on notice, but a spectacular blocker save from Truro goaltender Louca Connolly kept the damage limited.

“(Connolly’s) been our best player all tournament, he’s been great,” Bearcats head coach Jon Greenwood said.

“We’re really proud of Luca and what he’s doing for us. We need to help him out a bit more.”

The Bombers, leading 3-0, pulled their goalie with four minutes to go in a desperate attempt to generate the goals they needed, but a long range empty net goal ended any chance of a miracle finish.

“We didn’t want to talk before the game like ‘yeah we can’t lose by this many,’ I didn’t want that in their head so we focused on winning the game but at some point I had to let them know,” Greenwood said.

“I’m proud of the way we finished out the third period. We played a good hockey team.”

If Toronto had won or the game went to overtime, any regulation win would have clinched a spot in the quarterfinals for the Bombers.

Canmore and Summerside made the quarterfinals in group A, with Niverville earning the bye. Truro and Toronto will play in the quarterfinals from group B, with Longueuil advancing straight to the quarters