A season for the ages
For the Niverville Nighthawks, the 2025-26 season was a dream come true and a culmination of years of hard work by players, staff, and the group of people who pushed hard to bring Niverville an MJHL franchise.
They won everything they possibly could in year four of existence.
The only team to crack 50 wins in the regular season, finishing with 51 and earning 103 points. They scored the most goals with 280. They gave up the fewest goals with 117. The most overtime wins with 6. They even had the fewest penalty minutes at 693.
It didn’t slow down in the playoffs, as the Nighthawks continued to dominate, going on one of the most impressive runs in Manitoba Junior Hockey League history, lifting the Turnbull Cup, then following that up with a clinic at the Centennial Cup, en route to claiming the National title.
When it was all said and done, the Nighthawks posted an outstanding 69-7-1-0 record through the regular season, playoffs, and Centennial Cup, where they refused to lose.
Pillars staying in place
After the celebrations, the Nighthawks organization announced that both Head Coach Dwight Hirst, and General Manager Mike McAulay, would be staying with the team, inking extensions and keeping two foundational pieces in place.
New season, new challenges
Like most teams across the MJHL landscape, the Nighthawks will feature many new faces. Some with junior experience, while others will be making the jump to junior A.
Niverville will welcome back some key guys, including scoring star Marlen Edwards, the dynamic Jaden Mah, and goaltender Ben Chornomydz.
Also, they’ll look for other returnees like Parker Rolston, Tyler Bernier, and Ryken Arran to take positive steps forward. Additions with experience like Fenton Mann and Aiden McDonald will be relied on to fit into a role, while a new defender like Cole Bies may get a chance to be a key contributor all over the ice.
Perhaps there are no bigger shoes to fill than those left in the crease after the season Austin Dubinsky had last year, but having Chornomydz back for a second season, coming off a 17-3 season, brings confidence to a team that is typically built from the net out.
2026-27 outlook
It’s improbable that the Niverville Nighthawks will replicate what they did last year, in the regular season, at least, but given how they’ve shown to get players to fully buy in, and get the absolute best out of them up and down the lineup, there’s no question the MJHL could have their first repeat champion in a number of years.
They have high-end players. They have a proven system that brings the best out of a player, but with so much turnover, there will be growing pains. But those pains come with opportunity. Young players get more ice. Returning players get a bigger role. The core of what Nighthawks hockey is will still be in place, and it’s a huge advantage going into a new season where other teams may be having to find their own brand.
Other teams will have them circled, knowing that a win against Niverville, especially at the CRRC, means a little more.
They went the whole way last year and accomplished something only a few MJHL programs ever had. They won’t rest on that, but it is something they won’t ever forget. While it could be looked at as a reset, it’s more likely just the start of a new cycle that, in two or three years, is right back where they were in the magical run of 2025-26.
The Nighthawks have put the MJHL on notice and will have two brand new shiny banners hanging up in the Niverville CRRC when the puck drops on Friday.
