The Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings welcomed the Nipawin Hawks to Crescent Point Place Tuesday night, hoping to snap a six-game losing skid. The last time the Wings had entertained the Hawks, back on October 15th, the Wings had picked up a 4-2 win, so they were hoping to repeat the performance.
Just 34 seconds into the game, however, Nipawin showed they had different plans, as Joel Mabin scored on a breakaway. It wouldn’t take long for the Hawks to add to the lead as Carson Dobson scored at the 2:23 mark. Then, just 7:39 into the game, a goal from Bryden Kiesman made it 3-0. The goal also ended the night for Red Wings goalie Jackson Fellner, who was called to the bench and replaced by Dazza Mitchell.
Mitchell made his first appearance between the pipes for the Red Wings since November 19th. In relief, he would face 19 shots, turning aside 17 of them.
“I thought he played solid for not seeing any pucks for a while now,” Red Wings assistant coach Nathan Deck said. “Hopefully he can continue to progress and we get Dazza back 100 percent here.”
The first of those two goals came with just seconds remaining in the opening frame when Alex Johnson tipped a puck past him to make it 4-0 after 20 minutes of play.
The second period saw both teams getting a number of opportunities at each end. For the Hawks, Chase Hamm would keep the Red Wings off the board while at the other end, Mitchell kept the Wings in the game.
Nipawin would then add to the lead just 3:12 into the third period when Kye Whillans scored to make it 5-0, which is how the score would stand for the rest of the game.
“The effort wasn’t there,” Deck added. “It was a game that could have went either way. We had a good first shift there, but they scored at the end of it. It was a tough game, to say the least.”
Now winless in their last seven games, the Wings will look to turn things around Friday night when they host the Notre Dame Hounds at Crescent Point Place.