The Niverville Nighthawks found a way to pull out a 3–2 win at the CRRC on Friday night as they played the Waywayseecappo Wolverines for the first time this season. With the win, the Nighthawks stay in fourth place in the MJHL’s East Division with a 14–10–1 record.
After a scoreless first period, the Nighthawks opened the scoring five minutes into the second frame when Brendan Bottom potted home his thirteenth goal of the season. The Wolverines tied it up later in the period, and then the teams traded goals once more to end the period tied at 2–2 as Josh Paulhus scored for Niverville.
In the third period, Braden Panzer was the game’s hero midway through the third period. The goal held as the game-winner.
Chris Fines was excellent in the Nighthawks’ goal, stopping 31 saves in net for the win.
“I found Waywayseecappo a fast and tough team to play against as they work hard every shift,” said defenceman Evan Bortis. “I think we need to be more disciplined and bare down in our own zone every shift tomorrow night [when we face them again]. The boys played very well to take the win at home tonight, but tomorrow will be a battle, and we will need our whole team to bring their best game of the season.”
Bortis currently has 22 points in 25 games this season. As the team reaches the midway point of the season, Bortis is quite pleased with his team’s performance so far, as every campaign has its ups and downs.
“We have a solid group of guys that would go to war for each other every night,” he says. “Our record does not show how good of a team we have here in Niverville. We are finding the consistency from each guy every night now, and when everybody is going, we are a top team in this league. It feels good to be in a playoff spot right now, but it’s only partway through the season. We are looking to climb in the standings and punch our playoff spot earlier rather than later. We have lots of work to do till playoffs start, and all the boys are ready to go to work to do so!”
It’s a quick turnaround tomorrow as the Nighthawks travel to Waywayseecappo for a Sunday night rematch. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.