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Beaver Valley Nitehawks sweep Castlegar Rebels

The Beaver Valley Nitehawks knocked the Castlegar Rebels out of the playoffs in four straight.

The Beaver Valley Nitehawks knocked the Castlegar Rebels out of the playoffs in four straight in the first round of the KIJHL Neil Murdoch division playoff.

After winning Games 2 and 3 handily on Thursday and Friday by scores of 7-2 and 8-3, the Hawks went on to win Game 4 Sunday by a score of 6-5.

The Hawks jumped out to a 4-0 first period lead on a pair of goals by Riley Brandt, and single tallies from Braden Fuller and Dan Holland.

After Nate Rabbitt ceded four goals on 13 shots in the first period, the Rebels inserted midget AP Solomon Burke between the pipes for the second.  Burke played well, as the Rebels got on the board with a Connor Beauchemin tally. But Calvin would restore the four-goal lead, and net what would stand up as the winner and give the Hawks a 6-2 lead headed into the third. The Rebels would fight back scoring three unanswered goals, but the Hawks would hold on for the 6-5 playoff win.

Grayson Sharpe faced 34 Rebels shots, while Burke stopped 27 of 29 Nitehawk drives.

The Hawks now await the winner of the Nelson Leafs and Spokane Braves semifinal series that resumed Monday.

The Leafs took a 3-1 series lead over the Braves with a 2-1 win on Saturday in Spokane. Scores for Monday’s game were unavailable at press time and the next Nitehawk match has yet to be determined.

In the Eddie Murdoch division the Creston Valley Thundercats made short work of the Columbia Valley Rockets taking four straight including a 9-2 thumping in their final match Saturday. The Kimberley Dynamiters meanwhile took a 3-1 series lead over the Fernie Ghostriders with a 4-3 overtime win in Game 4 on Saturday. The winner will face the Cats.

In the Okanagan/Shushwap Conference the Kamloops Storm rolled off three straight wins after Sicamous won the opening match, to take a 3-1 edge, while 100-Mile House are up 3-2 on the Chase Heat. The fourth-seed North Okanagan Knights hold a 3-2 edge over first-seed Summerland Steam,  with the winner facing the Osoyoos Coyotes who took out the Kelowna Chiefs in four straight.