The Beaver Valley Nitehawks put the Grand Forks Border Bruins on the edge of elimination on Saturday, defeating the home team 2-0 in Game 3 of the Murdoch Division semifinal.
A power-play goal from Michael Hagen and a short-handed marker by Bradley Ross in the second period was all the Nitehawks needed as Noah Decottignies stopped 20 shots in the shutout victory for B.V.
The win means the Nitehawks can end the Border Bruins’ season tonight in Grand Forks when the teams meet for Game 4.
If necessary, the series will come back to Beaver Valley for Game 5 at 7 p.m. on Monday in a playoff schedule that is both bizarre and dumbfounding. Rather than have a night off between games, the Hawks-Bruins series games are scheduled on five consecutive nights, with Game 6 going Tuesday, and Game 7 on Wednesday.
In the other Murdoch semifinal, the Spokane Braves won 2-0 on Friday and 7-4 on Saturday to even its series with the number-1 seed Nelson Leafs. The series continues in Nelson on Monday with the puck drop at 7 p.m.
The Murdoch Division series final starts Friday.