The Niverville Nighthawks earned a point on Sunday night after an overtime loss to the Winkler Flyers, a game in which they fought hard to come back from a slow start. With the overtime loss, the Nighthawks stay in fifth place in the MJHL’s East Division with a record of 12–8–1.
Winkler jumped out to a quick lead in the first period, scoring twice to put the home team on its heels.
The game tightened up from there, though. There were no goals for the next 30 minutes of play, including a scoreless second period.
In the third period, Niverville clawed their way back to even. Aiden Corbett scored for the Nighthawks to make it 2–1. Then, with seven minutes remaining in the contest, forward Bryce Warkentine jammed one home to make it 2–2.
The game remained tied through much of overtime. But with just 30 seconds left on the clock, Winkler got the game winner.
Niverville’s Raiden Legall was excellent in net, stopping 37 shots in this spirited effort.
“I’m very proud of the team and the effort not to quit,” says Nighthawks head coach Dwight Hirst. “It’s very upsetting that I have to say this, but the referees missed an absolutely clear as day interference call that led to the game-winning goal in overtime. The missed call tainted a very good game.”
The Nighthawks are back in action with a home game on Wednesday night against the Portage Terriers. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
“You can’t give any team respect and an opportunity to establish their game plan,” says Hirst. “We need to start owning the game from the start to be successful against a team like Portage on Wednesday.”
