News, Playoffs

Niverville Nighthawks capture Turnbull Cup

by ksaurette

VIRDEN, MB – For the first time in franchise history, the Niverville Nighthawks are Turnbull Cup Champions after completing the sweep of the Virden Oil Capitals on Thursday night at Tundra Oil & Gas Place.

To kick off game four, Dysen Drake brought the home crowd to their feet, beating Austin Dubinsky on an early goal just 2:23 into the game.


On a late powerplay in the 1st, Marlen Edwards scored his first of two on the night, ripping the puck in off the post from the slot to tie the game up at 1-1 heading into the 2nd.


1:33 into the 2nd, Evan Panzer gave the Nighthawks their first lead of the night and they wouldn’t look back from there. Marlen Edwards added his second of the game while Kole Mears extended the lead to 4-1. With just under six minutes to play in the period, Tyson Draper made a slick move around the defender before finding the back of the net to cut the Oil Capitals deficit in half.


Like it did all series long, the Nighthawks powerplay continued to have success when Hayden Wheddon’s third of the postseason beat Micky Gross to give Niverville a 5-2 lead.

With Gross on the bench for the extra-attacker, Evan Panzer would score on the empty net to solidify the Nighthawks 6-2 win in game four, earning themselves their first Turnbull Cup Championship in team history.


Nighthawks goaltender, Austin Dubinsky, was named Most Valuable Player of the McMunn & Yates Turnbull Cup Playoffs, going 12-1, with a 1.31GAA and 0.956SV%.


The Nighthawks will now travel to Summerside, Prince Edward Island, to compete for a national championship at the Centennial Cup from May 7-17.