Ty Dilello
The Niverville Nighthawks keep on rolling with another dramatic 2–1 victory against the Winkler Flyers, once again in overtime. With the win, the Nighthawks stay in fourth place in the MJHL’s East Division with a record of 19–11–1.
For the second straight game, it was a low-scoring affair. Winkler scored first, but the Nighthawks replied midway through the first period with a goal from Luke McCrady.
There would be no scoring in the second or third periods, as both goaltenders put on a clinic. The Nighthawks headed to overtime for the second straight game against one of the toughest teams in the league, and they earned the same result as on Wednesday night.
It was team captain Brett Tataryn finding the back of the net to give Niverville the 2–1 overtime win.
Raiden LeGall put up another strong performance, stopping 33 shots in net. LeGall moves to 11–5–1 on the season with a 2.10 goals-against average and .939 save percentage. He currently leads the league in every MJHL goaltending category.
“This was a super big win for us, as it took everything we had,” said Tataryn, the overtime hero. “It was straight hard work that won the game for us.”
Tataryn is quick to give credit to his goaltenders, as they are a big reason for the Nighthawks’ success this season.
“Raiden has been superb for us,” said Tataryn. “He’s a real gamer. Both of our goalies are unreal. Gordo is super clutch when we need him, too. They work together to give us the best goaltending duo in the league.”
The Nighthawks are back in action on Saturday night with a road game against the Selkirk Steelers. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
“The confidence is definitely high right now, but we know not to get too ahead of ourselves and to stay level-headed and keep sticking to our game plan.”