After just three goals in his first 47 games, Logan Casavant exploded for four goals to lead the Nipawin Hawks to a 6-1 win over the Melfort Mustangs in Nipawin.
“He definitely had the Midas touch, that’s for sure, but he worked incredibly hard too. He’s been working hard all year and it was nice to see him finally rewarded for his work ethic because he’s had chances, sometimes they just haven’t gone in,” said Doug Johnson, the Hawks’ head coach, about the March 3 game.
Casavant scored once in the first period, twice in the second and one more time in the third for the Hawks, who also got goals from Keegan Kjargaard and the returning Brandan Arnold.
After just a single goal in the first period, the Hawks exploded for five goals in the final two periods.
“We got a few bounces, we started going to the net a little more and our power play generated a few goals. It wasn’t our prettiest effort, but I think we just battled a little harder,” said Johnson.
The Mustangs responded with a goal in the third period by Jaxon Joseph, but it was too little too late.
Trevor Blevins, Melfort’s head coach, pointed to a ten-minute stretch in the second period as the difference in the game.
“We fell asleep for a 10 minute stretch but other than that it was pretty good competitive hockey.“
Blevins noted it seemed like the Mustangs sagged a little bit after the Hawks scored to make it 2-0.
“We got a little bit soft and we took a bad penalty and they capitalized. And 3-0 I thought there was a little bit of a not-quit factor but we were a little bit pouty and not mentally tough at the time and they took advantage.”
The Hawks got a big boost prior to the game as Arnold was returned to the Hawks after being recalled by the Western Hockey League’s Swift Current Broncos at the end of January.
Johnson was really pleased to see Arnold return to the team, noting it was really important to get him back in the lineup prior to the playoffs.
“You can’t have a guy just go right in to playoffs and have any chemistry... There’s not the chemistry with the line mates. They don’t know each other that well but it’s getting better and we get one more game and then playoffs start... So I think the more he’s with us, the better it is for our program.”
