Tim Josza scored twice and Connor Stojan stopped 30 shots in the Beaver Valley Nitehawks 3-0 shutout win over the Grand Forks Border Bruins in front of a capacity crowd at the Hawks Nest on Friday.
With the victory, the Nitehawks take a 3-2 series lead in the best-of-7 Neil Murdoch Division final and can end the series tonight (Saturday, March 16) in Grand Forks.
After 40 minutes of scoreless hockey, Josza beat Bruins goalie Ethan Shebansky 4:55 into the third period for the game winning goal.
The teams played a fast-paced physical game marked by solid goaltending from Shebansky and Stojan with the shots on goal favouring the Hawks at 24-20 after two periods.
B.V. forward Joel Smyth added an insurance marker on a set up from Lohgan Nimmo and Will Caputo with four minutes remaining. Fifty seconds later, Josza walked out of the corner and backhanded a shot top shelf for a power play goal and the 3-0 final.
Adam Redding contributed two assists for B.V.
The Nitehawks outshot the Border Bruins 41-30, went 1-for-3 on the power play, and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
Game 6 goes in Grand Forks tonight (March 16) at 7 p.m.
Game 7, if necessary, will go Monday, March 18 at 7 p.m. at the B.V. Arena.