The Beaver Valley Nitehawks fell 3-1 to the Grand Forks Border Bruins on Saturday at the B.V. Arena, a day after a 4-1 loss to the Murdoch division leading Nelson Leafs in Nelson.
Beaver Valley missed their chance to move up the standings, with the loss to the Leafs Friday and a disappointing setback to the Bruins Saturday, the 18-13-2-2 Hawks now trail the Leafs by nine points.
B.V. dominated in the early going but Border Bruins goalie Ross King kept Grand Forks in the game allowing just one goal in the opening period despite being outshot 15-5.
Paul Leroux put the Hawks up 1-0 at 16:29 of the first period. Ryan Crisalli sent Leroux in on a breakaway, and the Hawks leading scorer sniped it top corner for his 19th of the season.
However, the Border Bruins picked up their game in the second, and Zane Avery tied the game at one, breaking in all alone and beating Hawks goalie Noah Decottignies at 3:21 of the second period.
The Nitehawks looked poised to take the lead as they went on the power play after Avery was sent off for roughing. But an aggressive forecheck by Keaghan Holub forced the Hawks d-man off the puck in the corner, and Holub fed Rilee Poffenroth in front. The Bruins forward made no mistake beating Decottignies with just 3:31 to play with a shorthanded goal and a 2-1 lead.
The Bruins added one more into an empty net for the 3-1 final, as B.V. outshot Grand Forks 32-18. The Nitehawks power play struggled, going 0-for-6 while their PK was 4-for-4.
On Friday, the Nitehawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead on an unassisted goal from Kevin Duguid. But the Leafs battled back tying the game with just under two minutes to play in the second on a breakaway goal by Reid Wilson, then Kevin Nypower netted the game winner on another free pass to the net at 13:23 of the third period. The Leafs added two more, scoring three third-period goals for the 4-1 victory.
The Leafs outshot the Nitehawks 33-25 and were 1-for-7 on the power play, while B.V. went 0-for-4.
Beaver Valley returns to action on Friday with a return trip to Grand Forks for a tilt against the Border Bruins.
