The Niverville Nighthawks continued their winning ways on Wednesday evening with an impressive 7–1 win on the road over the Winnipeg Freeze. Notably, the Nighthawks have now officially clinched the fourth and final playoff spot in the MJHL’s East Division with a record of 32–18–3. It is the third year in a row they have earned their way to the post-season.
The Nighthawks were the superior team all night, outshooting the Freeze 55–18 from start to finish.
Niverville scored twice in the first period, three times in the second period, and two more times in the final period on their way to securing the rout. Merik Boles led the way with a pair of goals, while Alex Ballard, Sean Williams, Henry Smith, Lucas Bertolin, and Bryce Warkentine had the Nighthawks’ other tallies.
Niverville’s Austin Dubinsky stopped 17 shots in goal for the win.
“It can be challenging as a coach to try keeping the habits right and not let any cheating come into the system,” says Nighthawks head coach Dwight Hirst. “Our players overall played well tonight with mitigating opportunities in general. There were some breakdowns too, but nothing of real sustained pressure and we moved on from it quickly.”
Now that a third straight playoff run is certain, Niverville will be watching the standings to see who they might face in the first round. With just five games remaining on the regular season schedule, by far the most likely opponent is the Winkler Flyers, who currently have a six-point lead for first place in the East Division.
The Nighthawks are back in action with another road game on Saturday, March 8 against the Selkirk Steelers. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
