For the first time in 17 years, the Nipawin Hawks are division champions.
The Hawks put the finishing touches on their first division title since 1999-2000 with a 4-1 win over the Kindersley Klippers at home.
Brandan Arnold scored a second period marker for the Hawks before Chad McCartney, Jake Tremblay and Tyler Adams added third period goals for the Hawks, turning a 1-1 third period tie into a 4-1 win.
The win also completed a 4-0 season sweep over Kindersley, which saw the Hawks outscore the Klippers 18-9.
Hawks back-up netminder Jake Anthony made his 29th appearance of the season, turning aside 41 of the 42 shots he faced as the Klippers outshot the Hawks 42-31.
The Hawks entered the contest as the league’s top team. With their win over the Klippers, they have moved eight points clear of the Battlefords North Stars, who have five games remaining.
Nikolas Malenica scored the lone goal for the Klippers, extending his point streak to ten straight.
Special teams played a key role in the contest, with the Hawks scoring the game’s tying goal with the man advantage to finish the evening 1-for-5, while the Klippers failed to score on any of their six chances.
Malenica put the Klippers in front 1-0 at 18:58 of the first with his 13th of the year, as the Hawks conceded 16 first period shots.
The Hawks rebounded in the second as they gave up just six shots, and scored the period’s lone goal, as Arnold scored his 31st of the year.
The third period saw the Hawks get outshot 20-9 but goals from McCartney and Tremblay 52 seconds apart gave the Hawks a lead they would not surrender.
Adams iced the game with six seconds to play scoring his sixth of the season into an empty net.
With the division title now in their possession, the Hawks will head into a home-and-home series with the Melfort Mustangs beginning March 2 in Nipawin, looking to put the finishing touches on a league title.
The Hawks will also look to send a message against a Mustangs team who has dominated their rivals this season, with Melfort winning six of the eight contests to date.
