With the outright lead for first place on the line, the Nipawin Hawks did not play their best hockey and it cost them as they fell 4-0 in a critical first place showdown with the Flin Flon Bombers on home ice Feb. 18.
“We had an okay first and I think it just fell apart in the third,” said Doug Johnson, the Hawks’ head coach. “We weren’t at our best for whatever reason and we just want to forget about it because we let something slip, we let something slide.”
After giving up a goal in the first period, the two teams played a tight checking second period with just 12 shots combined. The Bombers exploded in the third, scoring three times to run away with the game.
Kristian Stead was charged with the loss in the Hawks goal, giving up four goals on 32 shots.
It was a really tough performance for the Hawks as they generated just 18 total shots on goal, which was disappointing to see in such an important game, said Johnson.
The power play was also a big disappointment for the Hawks as they struggled to generate any offense going 0/7 on the power play after going 5/12 in their two games prior.
While it was disappointing to see such a poor performance from the team, Johnson noted the most important thing is that they learn from it.
“If we sit and we look back and we don’t learn anything from it and let it drag us down it’s even worse so we own it, we pick ourselves up and we get better the next day.”
