For the second straight night, the Niverville Nighthawks got the better of the Steinbach Pistons—and for the second straight night, it was a tight, hard-fought affair. Led by a two-goal performance from forward Kole Mears, the Nighthawks skated to a 5–4 win, moving into sole possession of second place in the East Division standings.
Strong Start
The Nighthawks came out flying in the opening frame, controlling much of the play and outshooting Steinbach 20–7. Their pressure paid off early when Calyb Moore picked off a pass at his own blue line, raced into the Pistons’ zone, and fired a shot past Steinbach netminder Chris Quizi to make it 1–0. The goal was Moore’s second of the season.
Late in the period, Niverville doubled their lead as Dawson Zeller picked up the puck on the wall, moved behind the Pistons net, then set up Mears in front of the net. Mears tucked home his first of the night to give the visitors a 2–0 edge heading into intermission.
Pistons Battle Back
As expected, Steinbach responded with more urgency in the second period, closing the gap quickly.
Cullen Ingebritson found room on the left side, moved into the Nighthawks zone, and found a streaking William Picklyk in the slot, who snapped a shot under the glove of Austin Dubinsky to get the Pistons on the board.
Less than a minute later and with the home crowd still buzzing, Brody Green tied the game with a quick release off a faceoff, tallying his eighth goal of the season.
However, the Nighthawks regained the lead before the period ended when a Loik Leduc point shot from the point deflected off Pistons defenceman Rory Gilmour and past Quizi, re-establishing Niverville’s advantage.
Back and Forth
The Nighthawks killed off an early penalty to start the third, then struck again moments later. Hayden Wheddon found open ice in the slot between a pair of Pistons defencemen and lifted his shot over Quizi, earning his team-leading eighth goal of the season to restore Niverville’s two-goal cushion.
The Pistons answered back on the power play just three minutes later when Evan Gradt’s point shot redirected past a screened Dubinsky to make it 4–3.
Midway through the period, Niverville capitalized on a turnover by Quizi behind the net, who lost the puck in his skates. Zeller pounced on the loose puck and fed Mears in front for his second of the night, extending the lead to 5–3.
Mears now has four goals on the season, and three in his last three games.
With under four minutes to play, the Pistons struck once again. After the Nighthawks failed to clear their zone, Brett Kaiser found a wide-open Brody Green in front of the Nighthawks net. Green spun, and instead of shooting found Evan Gradt at the side of the net. Gradt buried his second of the contest and gave the Pistons life. It was the third assist of the game for Kaiser and third point of the game for Green.
Despite a strong late push, the Pistons couldn’t find the equalizer and the Nighthawks held on for the 5–4 victory. Niverville outshot Steinbach 35–29.
What’s Next
The win marks Niverville’s fifth straight, including back-to-back triumphs over Steinbach. The Nighthawks (11–0–1) now turn their attention to a crucial road matchup Tuesday night against the league-leading Selkirk Steelers. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.
Niverville previously edged Selkirk 3–2 on October 18. Following Tuesday’s game, the Nighthawks will return home to begin a six-game homestand on November 1, when they host the Northern Manitoba Blizzard for the first time this season.