It may have taken a little while, but the Niverville Nighthawks looked like a team returning to form Monday afternoon, erupting for four third-period goals en route to an emphatic 8–3 victory over the Selkirk Steelers at the CRRC.

Playing their third game in four days and looking to snap out of a recent skid that saw them drop four of five, the Nighthawks leaned on a career night from Evan Panzer to get back in the win column. Panzer piled up five points, including his second hat trick of the season, to spark an offensive outburst reminiscent of the team’s earlier 15-game winning streak.

Niverville opened the scoring in the first period when Merik Boles carried the puck around a defender and fed Hayden Wheddon in the slot. Wheddon buried the chance to give the home side a 1–0 lead.

The Steelers, who entered the contest riding a seven-game losing streak, responded with a pair of goals before the intermission.

After a scrum in front of the Nighthawks bench, the puck was sent back to Jules Delapoulle, who moved into the slot and snapped a shot glove-side on Austin Dubinsky and tie the games.

Just over two minutes later, Ayden Collins took a cross-ice feed from Carter Haney, moved into the right circle, and ripped a shot past Dubinsky to make it 2–1. 

The second period came to life early, with three goals scored in just 36 seconds.

Panzer tied the game two minutes in, finishing a slick setup from Loik Leduc at the side of the crease. Seventeen seconds later, Panzer became the setup man, digging the puck free and sliding a cross-crease pass to Dawson Zeller, who tapped home the go-ahead goal into the yawning cage.

But Selkirk answered again just 16 seconds after that, as Wyatt Witham converted on a two-on-one to knot the game at 3–3.

Panzer restored the Nighthawks’ lead late in the frame on the power play. After dropping a pass to Leduc in the slot, Panzer drifted into the right circle and hammered home a one-timer to send Niverville into the third period up 4–3.

The third period has been kind to the Nighthawks for much of the season, but not so much for the last couple weeks. On Monday afternoon, things looked to get back on track as Niverville found the back of the net another four times. More importantly, the team showed the habits and character that has seen them stay atop the league standings for the majority of the season. 

Wheddon struck just over a minute into the frame, finishing a feed from behind the net for his thirieth goal of the season. The milestone marker ties him for second-most in the MJHL, and he continues to lead the league with 78 points.

Midway through the period, Niverville blew the game open with two goals 1:14 apart.

Leduc dazzled with another magical stickhandling display, something Niverville fans have gotten used to this season, going coast-to-coast before splitting the defence, spinning around, and sliding a pass to Panzer at the side of the crease, who completed his hat trick. 

Shortly after, Aaron Krestanowich snapped home his fourth of the season from the slot to make it 7–3.

Kole Mears rounded out the scoring with a late power-play marker, sealing the 8–3 final.

“It was good to get back in the win column here and just get back to the habits, and I thought our third period is more of what we’ve been doing for the majority of the season,” says head coach Dwight Hirst. 

The win improves the Nighthawks to 5–0 against the Steelers this season, with one more meeting set for March 10 in Selkirk.

More importantly, it may mark a turning point after a rare stretch of adversity.

“A little bit of adversity with the recent losses… you know, as a coach you want to win every game, but every team goes through these moments during a season of finding your game again, and I’d say in the third period we found our game,” says Hirst.

Panzer’s five-point performance marked a career high, while Leduc assisted on all three of his goals for his fourth three-point outing of the year. Wheddon finished with two goals and now has six in his last four games. Mears, Krestanowich, and Zeller each recorded multi-point efforts in the win.

Niverville improved to 41–6–1, sitting three points ahead of the Steinbach Pistons, who beat the Winnipeg Blues 12–2 Monday afternoon. The Nighthawks hold a game in hand on the Pistons with 10 games remaining.

After a demanding stretch of three games in four days, the Nighthawks will get a brief break before heading north to face the Swan Valley Stampeders on Friday and the Northern Manitoba Blizzard on Saturday. Niverville returns home February 25 to host the Portage Terriers at the CRRC.

See below for the game’s highlight reel.