Ty Dilello – The Niverville Citizen
The Niverville Nighthawks won their second in a row on Sunday afternoon at the CRRC with a massive 3–2 win over the Winnipeg Blues. With the win, the Nighthawks improve to 23–23–4 on the season, which is good for fourth in the MJHL’s East Division.
They are also now five points up on the Selkirk Steelers for the final playoff spot.
It was another game the Nighthawks needed to win against a team lower than them in the standings. And as such, it was important that the home team get off to another hot start.
Brendan Bottem scored two minutes into the game to give the Niverville crowd something to cheer for.
The Blues tied the game a few minutes later, and that’s how the score stayed after the first period. In the second period, the Nighthawks took over with a pair of goals from Ty Kennett, who now has 11 on the season.
Winnipeg got one goal back early in the final period, but that was all they were able to muster as Niverville held on for the 3–2 win.
Dane Couture was solid in the Nighthawks net and stopped 32 shots for the win.
“We scored more goals than they did, and it’s as simple as that,” said Nighthawks captain Brett Tataryn. “That’s what we’ve been missing this last stretch here. But I love our compete and our tenacity, and I think that learning from losing helps us a lot. So it felt really good to get back into the win column this weekend.”
The Nighthawks are back in action for a home game on Wednesday, March 1 against the Neepawa Titans. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
“Nothing is a for sure thing at this time of the year,” Tataryn said. “So we have to stay humble and keep grinding and chipping our way through the final stretch.”