Connor Stojan stopped 29 shots and Beaver Valley Nitehawks captain Kaleb Percival scored the Game 3 winner in a 3-0 shutout victory over the Grand Forks Border Bruins on Monday in Grand Forks.
After Bruins forward Ray Warrack was sent off for tripping 14:37 into the opening frame, exactly one minute later, Percival wired a point shot over the blocker of Grand Forks goalie Ethan Shebansky for a 1-0 Hawks lead.
“Kaleb had a tremendous game, he hasn’t played a lot of defence in the last two weeks but with some injuries he played defence last night and was the best player on the ice,” said Nitehawks head coach Terry Jones. “His poise and leadership is incredible.”
The goal would stand up as the game winner as the Nitehawks played stingy defensive hockey over 60 minutes and reclaimed home-ice advantage after splitting Games 1 and 2 of the Neil Murdoch final in Fruitvale on the weekend.
“I thought it was a solid team effort,” said Jones. “I thought everybody dug in and played the way we needed to play. We had good discipline to our game, and our defensive zone play was really solid.”
Nitehawks forward Adam Redding netted an insurance marker at 7:27 of the third period on a set up from Nathan Simm and Ollie Clement. Trail product Joel Smyth then tallied his first of the playoffs at 13:37 with a power play goal from Percival and Hunter Hansen for the 3-0 final.
B.V. outshot the Border Bruins 34-29 with Stojan playing a flawless game in the Hawks goal.
“He (Stojan) is our backbone,” said Jones. “He really is, and we rely on him to stay calm and keep the ship going in the right direction. He was tremendous and just not rattled by anything.”
The Nitehawks special teams has played a key role in the physical series, with B.V. going 2-for-8 on the power play and 7-for-7 on the penalty kill in Game 3. In the series, B.V. is 5-for-16 with the extra man and a perfect 14-for-14 on the PK, with a plus-1 on a shorthanded goal from Clement in Game 2.
The Nitehawks take a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-7 Kootenay Conference semifinal and Murdoch division final.
On Saturday, following a deflating last-second 2-1 loss to Grand Forks in Game 1 Friday at the B.V. Arena, the Nitehawks shut down the Border Bruins vaunted attack on their way to a 5-1 win.
“It was a big bounce-back game,” said Percival. “I think it was tough having 10 days off and then coming in and playing a super-competitive team, so it’s a big win, it’s a confidence booster, and now we just have to keep rolling.”
Hawks forward Adam Redding scored what stood as the game winner on the power play late in the first period. The Spokane product redirected a point shot from Lhogan Nimmo past Bruns goalie Ethan Shebansky for a 2-0 lead 16:06 into the first period.
Nitehawks defenceman Lucas Gartner opened the scoring with a rocket from the point, and Clement netted a shorthanded marker at 14:58 to make it 3-1. The Border Bruins switched goalies at 11:14, and the Nitehawks welcomed Matthew Dovichak personally just four seconds later when Clement banked a shot off Will Caputo on a scramble in front of the Bruins net for a 4-1 lead.
Two minutes later, Hawks forward Beau Manegre completed the scoring for the 5-1 final.
The Nitehawks outshot the Border Bruins 42-24 and were 2-for-4 on the power play, while the Bruins went 0-for-5.
In Game 1, JP Desabarais broke a 1-1 tie when he walked through the Nitehawks team and beat Stojan high glove with just seven seconds remaining in regulation for a 2-1 Grand Forks victory.
As they prepare for Game 4, Wednesday, the Nitehawks will be without an injured William Ray and Roan Crowe for an extended period, as well as Cooper Ross suspended for three games for a hit from behind, and Boris Hristov, out three games for fighting in Game 2.
“It’s the next man up mentality, and that is certainly the way we played Monday night,” said Jones.
“We are just taking it a moment at a time. Our guys know what’s at stake, they’ve played through lots of playoff games as a group … It’s playoff hockey, you never know what to expect, but we’re going to go out and do our best, and try to take Game 4.”
The Nitehawks played Game 4 in Grand Forks on Wednesday night, but the result was unavailable at press time.
Game 5 goes at the B.V. Arena at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 15, and a Game 6 if necessary in Grand Forks on Saturday.
Game 7, if necessary, will be played in B.V. at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 18.