Earning five of a possible six points this past week allowed the male U18 Pembina Valley Hawks to move up slightly in the standings.
The Hawks earned a single point in a 5-4 shootout loss last Thursday to Eastman, but they then rebounded to beat Central Plains 4-1 Friday and then Eastman 5-3 Sunday.
Eastman jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period before Pembina Valley came back to briefly lead 4-3 early in the third. After a scoreless overtime, the Selects gained the extra point by scoring twice in the four-round shootout.
Tegan Fehr had a pair for the Hawks with singles from Carter Unger and Haiden Friesen. Ryler Gates made 25 saves as the Hawks held a 37-30 edge in shots on goal.
Pembina Valley bombarded Central Plains with 51 shots on goal, while Karsen Dyck was only called on to face 19 shots in net for the Hawks. Friesen, Unger, Cohen Pilkington, and Cole Secord scored for Pembina Valley.
Secord broke a 3-3 tie with the game-winning goal 14:09 into the third period against Eastman, and Ragnar Gillis then sealed the deal with an empty-net goal.
Also scoring for the Hawks were Carson Hiebert, Paxton White, and Friesen. Shots on goal were 41-38 in favour of the Selects, so Gates earned the win in net with 38 saves.
The victory improved Pembina Valley’s record to 20-17-5-3 for 48 points, which puts them seventh place, where they are even with Parkland but also just one ahead of Interlake and Eastman.
The Hawks close out the regular season schedule this week starting with hosting Kenora Friday and then visiting the Winnipeg Thrashers Saturday before hosting the Winnipeg Bruins on Sunday.
