The Beaver Valley Nitehawks will have to rally and comeback from a 3-0 series deficit against the Fernie Ghostriders after a dramatic Game 3 overtime loss in Fernie on Tuesday.
Fernie forward Cole Fournier scored 8:18 into the first overtime period for a 3-2 victory and the Ghostriders third straight win in the Kootenay Conference Final. Fournier beat Nitehawks goalie Connor Stojan with a shot under the arm on a delayed penalty call for his fifth of the playoff and the game winner.
Fernie won both games in Beaver Valley with a 3-2 win in Game 1 and a 6-4 victory in Game 2 on Friday and Saturday.
The Nitehawks battled hard through two periods in the third match, and led 2-1 after 40 minutes on goals from Ethan Smyth and Adam Redding.
However, Landon Hedges from the Ghostriders tallied his fifth of the playoff 73 seconds into the third to tie it and ultimately force the extra frame.
Nick Kunyk stopped 30 shots for the Ghostriders, while Stojan made 36 saves, including one on a penalty shot.
Fernie went 0-for-2 on the power play, while B.V. was 1-for-2.
The Nitehawks found themselves in a similar position in last year’s playoff against the Creston Valley Thundercats. Trailing 3-1 in the Murdoch division final, B.V. battled back to force a Game 7, then won the series with a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory in the deciding match.
The Nitehawks will have to start their comeback on Wednesday night in Fernie when they face the Ghostriders for Game 4.
In Game 2, the Ghostriders jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead, with Ben Skarson scoring the first two goals and assisting on Taylor Haggerty’s tally with 11:49 to play in the opening frame.
The Ghostriders kept the momentum in the second with Cole Fournier firing a point shot through a crowd 5:20 in for a power play goal and a 4-0 lead.
Less than a minute later, Fernie’s Eli Neilsen tallied another power-play goal, before Lohgan Nimmo fired a setup from Beau Manegre under the blocker to make it 5-1.
Haggerty scored his second of the game at 8:27 for a 6-1 lead, and B.V. forward Tim Jozsa cut the lead to 6-2 with 3:33 left in the middle frame.
Beaver Valley staged a comeback in the third that proved too little, too late, with a shorthanded goal from Lucas Gartner with 3 minutes remaining, and Nathan Simm scored his third of the playoff 61 seconds later for the 6-4 final.
In Game 1 on Friday, the Nitehawks pressed but could not finish as Ghostriders goalie Nick Kunyk made 40 saves in the 3-2 Fernie victory.
In the Okanagan-Shuswap Conference final, the Revelstoke Grizzlies took a 2-1 series lead with a 4-3 victory in Game 3 against the Princeton Posse.
The Nitehawks play the Ghostriders in Game 4 at 6 p.m. PT tonight (Wednesday, March 27) in Fernie.
Game 5 is set for Fruitvale on Friday, March 29 at 7 p.m. PT at the B.V. Arena.