The ‘Quest for the Teck Cup’ continues this week as the Nitehawks prepare for their Conference Final matchup against the Fernie Ghostriders. The Hawks claimed the Neil Murdoch Division title last week with a 4-2 series win over the Grand Forks Border Bruins. Now it’s down to four teams left, all fighting for KIJHL glory and a spot in the Mowat Cup in Kimberley (BC Provincial Championship). The Hawks, who had to battle through their fair share of injuries in round two, are looking to reset and take on the Ghostriders starting Friday night.
Series Schedule
Mar. 22 Fernie at Beaver Valley 7:00 pm PDT
Mar. 23 Fernie at Beaver Valley 7:00 pm PDT
Mar. 26 Beaver Valley at Fernie 7:00 pm MDT
Mar. 27 Beaver Valley at Fernie 7:00 pm MDT
*Mar. 29 Fernie at Beaver Valley 7:00 pm PDT
*Mar. 30 Beaver Valley at Fernie 7:00 pm MDT
*Apr. 1 Fernie at Beaver Valley 7:00 pm PDT
*If Necessary
The Season Series and Their Journey to the Conference Finals
The Hawks split the season series with the Ghostriders, losing the first meeting of the year back in October by a narrow 2-1 score line. The Hawks would put a convincing finish to the season series with a 4-1 win on home ice in February, a win that at the time, was the Nitehawks 15th in a row. As previously mentioned the Hawks pushed their way past the Bruins in six games to advance from the second round after a round one sweep of the Castlegar Rebels. The Ghostriders on the other hand went toe to toe with the Creston Valley Thunder Cats in round one, winning in five games, but needing crucial overtime wins in games three and four to help them advance, after Creston took game one with an overtime win of their own. Fernie also required six games in round two too also get past their opponents. The Columbia Valley Rockies, who bounced the Kimberley Dynamiters from the first round pushed the Ghostriders all series long. But in the end it was the Ghostriders who got the job done and now face the Nitehawks.
Knowing the Opponent
The Ghostriders claimed the Eddie Mountain regular season title this season with a 61point campaign. Despite a slower end to their season, going 3-3-0 in the lead up to the post season, the Ghostriders were one of the strongest teams in the back half of the season while making a few key additions prior to the trade deadline. Until the final few weeks of the season, Fernie found themselves in the battle for the Presidents Cup alongside the Nitehawks, but a pivotal win by the Nitehawks to start the month of February saw that reality slip away. The Ghostriders powerplay through the season sat just shy of 20%, while they were in the bottom half of the league in terms of attempts, while their penalty kill sat 4th in the league. Those numbers have continued to be fairly consistent throughout their 11 games played in the postseason, with a 20% powerplay average and a 90% penalty kill ratio.
Head-to-Head Offence
Taylor Haggerty lead the way for the Ghostriders this year, finishing third in league scoring with 62 points. After Haggerty though, the Ghostriders points production took a significant 30 point drop for the next closest player, with the bulk of the production being more spread out. The Ghostriders have 8 players with 20 or more points, compared the the Nitehawks who boasted a whopping 16 players with 20 or more points, 17 of you included Lohgan Nimmo who had 19 points in just 14 games compared to all other players who played 30 or more. Fernie scored 163 goals this season for a goal differential of +42 while the Nitehawks hit the 200 mark and had a differential of +95. Through two rounds in the playoffs its the Nitehawks again leading the scoring race in terms of a differential. Where the Nitehawks have scored 19 more goals than they have allowed for 33. The Ghostriders, with an extra game played, have scored 35 but only have a +9 goal difference.
| Nitehawks Top 5 Scorers (Regular Season) | Ghostriders Top 5 Scorers (Regular Season) |
| Ollie Clement (18-27-45)
Roan Crowe (17-18-35) Adam Redding (15-19-34) Nathan Simm (13-18-31) Tim Jozsa (14-16-30) |
Taylor Haggert (26-36-62)
Kyler Watson (12-20-32) Riley Enns (14-12-26) Cole Fournier (11-15-26) Andrew Kennedy (3-23-26) |
| Nitehawks Goaltenders (Regular Season) | Ghostriders Goaltenders (Regular Season) |
| Connor Stojan 22W – 7L – 0OTL (0.946 SV% / 2.46 GAA)
Landon Uzeloc (10W – 2L – 0OTL (0.916 SV% / 2.23 GAA) |
Nick Kunyk 18W – 2L – 0OTL (0.921 SV% / 2.35 GAA)
Levi Hall 5W – 2L – 2OTL (0.927 SV% / 2.73 GAA) |
| Nitehawks Top 5 Scorers (Playoffs) | Ghostriders Top 5 Scorers (Playoffs) |
| Ollie Clement (4-6-10)
Kaleb Percival (1-9-10) Adam Redding (5-4-9) Lohgan Nimmo (3-5-8) Bobby Hristov (4-2-6) |
Coden Fournier (5-5-10)
Landon Hedges (4-5-9) Kaden Slobodian (4-4-8) Taylor Haggery (2-5-7) Dayden Collier (3-3-6) |
| Nitehawks Goaltenders (Playoffs) | Ghostriders Goaltenders (Playoffs) |
| Connor Stojan 8W – 2L – 0OTL – 2SO (0.952 SV% / 1.36 GAA)
Landon Uzeloc (N/A) |
Nick Kunyk 5W – 0L – 0OTL (0.951 SV% / 1.36 GAA)
Levi Hall 3W – 2L – 0OTL – 1SO (0.920 SV% / 2.92 GAA) |
It all gets started this Friday in Beaver Valley as the Hawks host the Ghostriders in the first of a Best-of-Seven series. Catch all the games at the rink or on FloHockey. Also follow the Nitehawks on their social media channels for the most up to date news!
We’ll see you Friday night BV!
