The Nipawin Hawks head into the Christmas break on a high as they knocked off the La Ronge Ice Wolves 4-0 in the Hawks’ final Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League game of 2017.
The Dec. 19 contest in La Ronge got off to an excellent start for the black and gold as Chad McCartney scored his seventh goal of the season, on the power play, to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead just 2:47 into the game.
The game remained 1-0 in favour of Nipawin for more than 40 minutes, as neither team found the back of the net, until Brett Harasymuk scored his 12th of the year at 3:53 of the third period to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead.
Logan Casavant added his ninth of the year just under a minute later and Brandan Arnold added his 25th of the year at 17:43 as the Hawks rolled to the 4-0 win.
The win puts an excellent cap on 2017 for the Hawks, as they closed out the year with points in 16 straight games (15-0-1).
It was a perfect night for the Hawks’ special teams, as their power play finished 1-for-1 and their penalty kill also finished 1-for-1.
Jake Anthony picked up the win in the Hawks’ goal turning aside all 30 shots he faced for his first career SJHL shutout as the Hawks outshot the Ice Wolves 33-30.
The Hawks will now enjoy a 17-day break before they return to action on Jan. 5 for a rematch against the Ice Wolves, this time in Nipawin.
