The Niverville Nighthawks are rolling after defeating the Neepawa Titans 5–1 on Saturday evening for their second straight win. With the victory, the Nighthawks move to .500 on the season with a 6–6–0 record, good for fourth place in the MJHL’s East Division.

Dayden Collier opened the game’s scoring for Niverville midway through the first period. Brett Tataryn then scored under a minute later to give the Nighthawks an early 2–0 advantage.

Neepawa would get one back, but early in the second period Gavin Gunderson scored on the power play to open up a 3–1 lead.

Hayden Wheddon and Brett Tataryn each scored late in the second period for the Nighthawks, and that’s how the game would end, as the third period was scoreless. Final tally—Niverville 5, Neepawa 1.

Ethan Kadatz stopped 24 of 25 shots in goal for the Nighthawks.

“It was the same tight start as we saw the other night in Portage,” says Nighthawks head coach Kelvin Cech. “And then some special teams in the middle where our penalty kill was strong. But then our power play got jealous, and they wanted to pop a couple, so the boys really earned the two points tonight.”

Cech is quick to point out the strong play of his top line players, which helped put the game out of reach.

“Brett [Tataryn] is really playing strong lately all over the rink,” Cech says. “He kills penalties, he takes faceoffs and puts the puck into the net. He’s really leading the way in that regard. But tonight, especially, was a full team effort as everyone contributed at different points of the game. Guys made the most of their opportunities every time we got them.”

The Nighthawks return home this afternoon for a 3:00 p.m. matinee against the OCN Blizzard.

“The guys understand what’s at stake tomorrow, as it’s a quick turnaround,” the coach says. “So we’ve been doing the right things and preparing to play another game. It’ll be nice to play in front of our fans again and build off that energy.”