By Bill Burfoot
@your_pictures_here
Two of the MJHL’s hottest teams collided Sunday afternoon at the CRRC in Niverville—and when the dust settled, the Dauphin Kings had the upper hand.
The Nighthawks entered the matchup riding a franchise-record six-game winning streak to start the season, while the Kings had won five straight of their own, surrendering just four goals during that span.
With both sides riding a wave of momentum, something had to give.
The opening period saw the two teams trading chances, with goaltenders Austin Dubinsky (Niverville) and Bryson Yaschyshyn (Dauphin) making big saves to keep the game scoreless.
The deadlock was finally broken late in the first, when Loik Leduc delivered a cross-crease pass to Evan Panzer on the power play, who redirected the puck past Yaschyshyn to establish a 1–0 Nighthawks lead.
Dauphin had a golden opportunity to respond before the period ended, when Niverville took back-to-back penalties, including a double-minor for headbutting to Luke Wagner, giving the Kings an extended five-on-three.
Though they couldn’t convert before intermission, it didn’t take long in the second period to capitalize. Just 27 seconds in, a Madden Murray shot redirected to Havryil Simchuk at the side of the crease. He tucked it in to tie the game.
Dauphin took control from there.
Early in the third, Cam Jansa fired a quick shot through Dubinsky’s legs to give the Kings their first lead of the afternoon.
Niverville struggled to generate much momentum in the final frame, and when they did Yaschyshyn stood tall.
