The Niverville Nighthawks earned their first win of the preseason on Tuesday night, defeating the Selkirk Steelers 3–2 in a shootout to close out a home-and-home series between the two clubs.

Just as they did in Niverville on Sunday afternoon, the Steelers opened the scoring late in the first period when Isaac Sousa converted a slick backhand feed from Carter Haney, beating Nighthawks goaltender Ben Chornomydz from close range.

Despite the goal, Chornomydz delivered a strong performance, stopping 17 of 18 shots in just under 30 minutes of action.

Calyb Moore tied the game for Niverville in the second period, firing a shot past Steelers netminder Hudson Hunnie after a sharp no-look setup from John Scott.

Moore, a product of St. Adolphe, showed flashes of the offensive prowess that earned him 68 points last season with the Eastman Selects U18 AAA.

Tension ramped up in the third period, as a hit from Steelers forward Cole Babych led to a fight with Nighthawks defenceman Nathan Forster. Both players were ejected, with Forster picking up an extra two minutes for instigating.

With the game tied at one and overtime looming, Niverville broke through with just 1:14 left on the clock. Loik Leduc won a faceoff cleanly forward, chased down the puck in the corner, and dished a perfect backhand pass to Kole Mears, who tucked it past Steelers goalie Lukas Bergman for the go-ahead goal.

But Selkirk wasn’t done. With just 17 seconds left, Isaac Sousa struck again, ripping a shot from the slot past Logan Maroni (13 of 14) to send the game to overtime.

Both teams traded breakaway chances in the extra frame but couldn’t beat the goaltenders. With just under 30 seconds to go, Niverville’s John Scott nearly won it with a highlight-reel toe-drag and shot, but he rang it off the post. 

In the shootout, it was Jaden Mah who played hero, scoring the eventual game-winner to seal a 3–2 victory for the Nighthawks.

The Nighthawks won’t have much time to celebrate, as they return to action on Wednesday night at the CRRC, where they’ll host the Winnipeg Blues. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.