Kevin McGivern couldn't have picked a better time to record his first career senior hockey win.
The Winterhawks rookie netminder wasn't terribly busy, but he backstopped his team to a 6-2 win in the biggest game of the season to date.
McGivern stopped 16 shots, while Chris King added two goals as the Winterhawks broke a three-way tie for 3rd place in the WOAA's North Division.
Ripley got on the board at 5:57 of the 1st period, when Jarred Colling beat McGivern to make it a 1-0 game.
Despite outshooting Ripley 18-4 in the 1st, the Winterhawks couldn't beat Wolves goalie Mitch Campbell, and they went to the dressing room down by a goal.
Both teams had powerplay opportunities early in the 2nd period, and Blake Underwood struck as the Winterhawks finished off a penalty kill, knotting the game at 1-1 at 10:56 of the 2nd, with assists to Trent Hawke and Trevor Smith.
The Wolves restored their lead three minutes later, when Dylan Sayles got in alone on McGivern to make it a 2-1 game.
King answered back for the Winterhawks two minutes later, scoring a goal assisted by Alex Penner to make it a 2-2 tie after two periods of play.
Both teams opened it up in the 3rd period, looking to score the go-ahead goal as neither team wanted to head to overtime and hand over an extra point in the standings.
Following a big penalty kill at the halfway point of the period, Bryan Kazarian fed Smith at the point and the big blueliner put a bullet shot past Campbell to give the Winterhawks a 3-2 lead with seven minutes to play.
Brent MacDermid gave the Winterhawks some breathing room as he added an insurance marker just minutes later on the powerplay, with Hawke and Underwood assisting.
King and Curtis Johnston would add last minute goals to arrive at a final score of 6-2, with the Winterhawks outshooting the Wolves 42-18 on the night.
The win improves the Winterhawks record to 9-8-2 on the season, moving them two points ahead of the Wolves and Shallow Lake Crushers for 3rd place in the North Division with five games remaining.
The Winterhawks will wrap up a four-game road swing next Saturday night, January 16th, when they visit the Shelburne Muskies for an 8:00 p.m. start.
with files from winterhawks.net
