Nipawin hopes to take Humboldt along for the ride to the RBC Cup
SJHL champs off to Anavet Cup in quest to claim national championship berth
While celebrating a league championship, the Nipawin Hawks are also carrying a torch for another SJHL team.
The Hawks will continue to honour the Humboldt Broncos, whose season ended after an April 6 bus tragedy, while pursuing the goal of winning the Canadian junior A hockey championship.
“When our season is done, the Humboldt Broncos’ season is done, too,” Hawks head coach and general manager Doug Johnson said. “As long as we go, they go.”
Nipawin captured the SJHL title and hoisted the Canalta Cup at home Tuesday while wearing green helmets to pay tribute to the Broncos.
“I don’t think anybody can ever honour them properly,” Johnson said. “All you can do is think about them and play the game the right way and try to do things right, like everything the Broncos did.”
Nipawin wrapped up the SJHL title by edging the visiting Estevan Bruins 2-1 in Game 7 of the championship series.
Next up is the Anavet Cup, which pits Nipawin against the MJHLchampion Steinbach Pistons. The series is to begin Friday in Steinbach, Man.
The winner of the Anavet Cup will proceed to the RBC Cup national championship May 12-20 in Chilliwack, B.C.
Nipawin finished first overall in the regular-season standings, posting a 43-8-3-4 record, before winning 10 of 15 playoff games.
The Hawks were leading Humboldt 3-1 in a best-of-seven semifinal when the Broncos’ bus crashed into a semi-trailer truck while the team was en route to a playoff game in Nipawin. All 29 people on the bus were killed or injured.
With the Broncos unable to resume their season, Nipawin received a berth in the league final and eventually won the second championship in franchise history — 28 years after the first.
“You don’t win championships very often,” Johnson said. “Your family life and everything like that, obviously it’s very satisfying, but with this you blend your family with your work. It is a family.
“Being here for eight years and seeing what this town has done for this organization and, vice versa, what this organization has done for this town and putting the Humboldt tragedy on top of it, it’s just something very special. This group here has battled all year and they deserve everything they get.”
Josh McDougall’s third-period power-play goal, on a two-man advantage, was the difference in a deciding game played before a sellout crowd of 1,200 at Centennial Arena. Roughly one-quarter of Nipawin’s residents were at the game.
McDougall snapped a 1-1 tie at 8:04 of the third frame. He also assisted on the game’s opening goal by Carter Doerksen. Jake Fletcher replied for Estevan, which was pursuing its third SJHL crown. The Bruins won league titles in 1985 and 1999.
After Tuesday’s game, Johnson was inundated with congratulatory messages.
“I think there were 84 texts when I finally got off the ice and looked at my phone,” he said with a chuckle.
While appreciating the complimentary comments, Johnson was quick to deflect the credit to the players.
“It’s all about the leadership,” Johnson said. “We’ve had some great captains here, but Carter Doerksen is a two-year captain, which you don’t see very often. There’s a lot of guys who have been here for three or four years.
“It’s about the character of the guys and the pride that they have. Our young guys and the new guys have come in and they’ve all bought in. They all want to get better. They all want to succeed. It’s just a special group.
“I’m just very proud and very happy that we can bring a championship back to Nipawin because Nipawin deserves it.”