The Beaver Valley Nitehawks didn’t let Tuesday’s junior hockey trade deadline go by without making a deal.
The Nitehawks added some insurance in signing goaltender Owen Sikkes, 18, from the Golden Rockets for future considerations. The Hawks have three netminders on their roster along with rookie Josh Bresnick and 20-year-old starter Tallon Kramer. The Hawks will look to the veteran Kramer to carry much of the workload in the playoffs, however resting him before the start of the postseason is likely.
Sikkes is a second-year veteran and played in 20 games with the Rockets this season. The Smithers minor hockey product brings more experience to the position than the 17-year-old rookie Bresnick, who has nine appearances, and will add relief down the stretch for Kramer who has appeared in 28 of 35 games this year, the most in the KIJHL.
Sikkes posted three wins, a 4.0 goals against average and a .892 save percentage on a Rockets team that has won just five games and are currently in the basement of the Eddie Mountain division.
The Nitehawks have a full slate of games this weekend as they host Grand Forks Friday at home, then head to Fernie to face the Ghostriders on Saturday, before returning to the Hawks Nest Sunday for a meeting with the Castlegar Rebels.
Sikkes will likely see action in at least one of those matches as the Hawks embark on their final 12 games of the regular season, and he may prove the final piece of the puzzle for a B.V. team looking to make a long playoff run.
The Hawks host the Braves at 7:30 p.m. Friday and the Rebels at 1 p.m. on Sunday.