Riding the momentum of their come-from-behind win on Monday night, the Niverville Nighthawks kept rolling Wednesday, shutting out the Waywayseecappo Wolverines 3–0 in Game 4 to take a 3–1 series lead.
Austin Dubinsky was perfect between the pipes, turning aside every shot he faced, while Adam Vigfusson led the way offensively once again with a goal and two assists. Vigfusson has five points in his last two games.
Merik Boles scored what stood as the game-winning goal, his first of the playoffs, and Marlen Edwards also found the back of the net for his first postseason tally.
The opening period set the tone with a heavy, physical style of play. Both teams delivered some big hits, with scoring chances being kept to a minimum.
The best opportunity came in the dying seconds of the period when Wolverines leading scorer Sebastian Hicks found himself open in the left circle with a wide open net. But his shot sailed too high.
Waywayseecappo held a slight edge in shots, 8–5, but neither side could break through.
The Nighthawks struck first midway through the second period on their first power play of the night after the Wolverines were called for too many men.
Boles took a pass from Edwards just below the left circle and drove the puck to the net before beating Jase Wareham from in tight to make it 1–0 with his first of the playoffs.
The power play, despite creating numerous chances in the series, entered the game one-for-13, but they finally capitalized when they needed it most.
They nearly doubled the lead late in the period on another man advantage, but Wareham stood tall with a pair of key saves.
The Wolverines pushed late in the frame, but Dubinsky continued to shut the door, preserving the one-goal lead heading into the third.
Waywayseecappo came out with urgency in the final period, controlling the early play.
Midway through, a broken play turned into a turning point. After killing off a penalty, the Wolverines nearly sprung a rush the other way. Cale Livingston jumped out of the box behind the Nighthawks defence. Noah Oughton tried to send him in but fanned on the pass, and the Nighthawks quickly went the other way on a two-on-one.
Vigfusson carried the puck into the Wolverines zone and attempted a pass across the crease that deflected and landed in front of the net, where Edwards buried his first of the playoffs to extend the lead to 2–0.
The Wolverines had a chance to cut the lead to one with a late power play and pulled their goalie with just over three minutes remaining, but they couldn’t solve Dubinsky.
Instead Vigfusson iced the game, firing the puck into the empty net to make it 3–0.
Dubinsky was flawless once again, stopping all 21 shots he faced to record his second shutout of the postseason.
With the win, Niverville now holds a commanding 3–1 series lead and will have a chance to close things out on home ice Friday night at the CRRC. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.