The Nipawin Hawks kicked off their Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League semifinal series on a high note as they knocked off the Flin Flon Bombers 2-1.
The Hawks picked up the win on March 31, thanks to a goal by Hawks forward Grant Baetsen with 2:14 to play.
The late Baetsen goal was the second time in the first five-playoff games that he scored the game winner in the final three minutes.
Doug Johnson, the Hawks’ head coach, was happy about the Hawks first win and was quick to credit the whole line of Baetsen, Brett Harasymuk and Keegan Kjargaard with playing great hockey, particularly when it matters most.
“They’re a line that we’re always playing in the last four minutes whether we’re up, whether we’re down... With the way they play, they can catch teams off guard,” he said noting, that line might be a little underrated around the league.
“They just come up big for us every time and Baetsen when he gets chances late in the game he doesn’t miss.”
Kjargaard scored the other Hawks goal in a tight checking back and forth contest.
“A typical first game of the series where there’s a bit of feeling out process. But it was also very physical with both teams trying to establish dominance,” said Johnson.
The Hawks were particularly solid on the penalty kill as they held the Bombers off the scoresheet on five opportunities.
Johnson noted the success came from a tremendous job clogging up the neutral zone, and being hard to play against deep in the defensive zone.
“We just worked real hard. It wasn’t anything special that we did, we just did everything a little better than we had in the past.”
