The Niverville Nighthawks put together one of their biggest wins in franchise history, defeating the Winkler Flyers by a 6–1 scoreline at home at a packed home crowd at the CRRC on Sunday night. The best-of-seven series is now tied at one game apiece.
The Nighthawks were opportunistic all night long and found ways to score on their best chances. On the defensive side, their star goaltender Austin Dubinsky was able to kick out most of the Winkler’s chances.
Niverville scored twice in the first period, including a shorthanded tally to kick off the scoring. They went on to score one more time in the second period and three times in the third period.
Sean Williams led the offensive charge with a pair of goals, while Matteo Speranza, Dawson Zeller, Holdin Getzlaf, and Hayden Wheddon added the team’s other scores.
Niverville’s Austin Dubinsky stopped 33 shots in goal for the win.
“After getting shut out in game one, it was beautiful that we were able to find our offence tonight and take the game north,” says Nighthawks head coach Dwight Hirst. “Our team played a fantastic home game, and the crowd really helped us along as we played a great game to get back in this series.”
The Nighthawks are back in action for game three in Winkler on March 25. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m.
“Hopefully we can keep up that intensity from tonight and come into their building and play a great road game in Winkler,” said Hirst. “If we do that, we can continue to be successful.”
