In Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) action on the weekend, the Beaver Valley Nitehawks cruised to a 4-1 win over the North Okanagan Knights Friday before holding off the Grand Forks Border Bruins 6-4 on Saturday.
Jaxon Joseph scored twice and Jace Weegar counted three assists against the Border Bruins, as B.V. won its 11th game in 13 starts this season.
Nitehawks forward Sam Swanson netted the winner midway through the second period to give B.V. a 5-1 lead with assists going to Tyler Hartman and Kyle Hope. The win keeps the Hawks atop the Neil Murdoch division with a two point cushion on the 10-3-0-0 Castlegar Rebels.
Joseph scored twice in the opening period and Coleton Dawson netted his second of the season to put the Hawks up 3-1 in the first period, despite getting outshot by Grand Forks 12-11. The offence cranked it up a notch in the second firing 15 shots on Bruins goalie Anthony Galliart. Dylan Heppler made it 4-1 at 16:35 of the middle frame, before Swanson netted the winner. The Bruins Chad Grambo beat Hawks goalie Drake Poirier to cut the lead to three goals but Braden Fuller scored his sixth of the season to put the Hawks up 6-2 with six minutes to go in the period.
Grand Forks forward Bryson Yee scored twice in 86 seconds late in the third to make the final 6-4. The Hawks outshot Grand Forks 37-24.
On Friday, Hartman scored two power-play goals in the first period, including what proved to be the winner, as B.V. rolled to a 4-1 win over the North Okanagan Knights. Weegar scored his seventh for the Hawks and recent addition Devin Ghiradosi scored his first, as B.V. added two more in the third for the victory. The Nitehawks fired 42 shots at the OK net, while Poirier stopped 31 in goal for B.V. The physical match saw Beaver Valley go 2-for-12 on the power play while the Knights went 1-for-9.
The Hawks will host the Princeton Posse in their next match on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Hawks Nest.
