Chris Clegg
NPHL.com Writer

Darren Kramer spent the night putting pucks into the net while Huston Buffalo kept them from going into the net.
It was the story of Game 5 of the NPHL Semi-Final as the hometown Falher Pirates avoided elimination with a 4-2 win over the Grande Prairie Athletics.
Kramer scored three goals – his second straight hat trick of the series – while Buffalo stopped 40 of 42 sots as FAL lived to fight another day.

GP led 2-0 after one period on goals from Andrew Buote and Mackenzie Caron.
However, FAL had some fight left in them. Darren Brochu scored at 7:47 of the second period and Kramer scored his first of the night with 3:13 left to tie the game.
In the third, Kramer scored at 4:41, then added a third goal with 6:24 left to seal the win.
The game was a mild affair compared to the last two games. Each team received only four minor penalties; each team was 0-for-2 on the power play.
Game 6 is back in GP Tuesday night.
The Dawson Creek Canucks await the winner in the NPHL Final.

Athletics 2 at Pirates 4
Saturday, March 2
[Athletics lead series 3-2]

First period
1. GP, Andrew Buote 2 (Blake Clement) 00:56
2. GP, Mackenzie Caron 5 (Blake Clement, Tyrone Kipling) 16:02
Penalty: Darren Brochu FAL (tripping) 18:49.
Second period
3. FAL Darren Brochu 1 (Trevor Tokarz, Jeff Chalifoux) 7:47
4. FAL, Darren Kramer 9 (Darren Brochu, Neil Maisonneuve) 16:47
Penalties: Paul Larocque GP and Jay Anderson FAL (roughing after the whistle) 2:38, Tyrell Mason GP (hooking) 5:10.
Third period
5. FAL, Darren Kramer 10 (Trevor Mazurek, Jay Anderson) 4:41
6. FAL, Darren Kramer 11 (Kevin Monfette) 13:36
Penalties: Paul Larocque GP (cross-checking) 10:46, Dakota Mason FAL (hooking) 13:38, Tyrell Mason GP (holding) and Darren Kramer FAL (unsportsmanlike) 19:36.
Shots on goal:

Grande Prairie	20	 9	13	-42

Falher		 5	14	12	-31

Goaltenders: Athletics, Kiefer Smiley; Pirates, Huston Buffalo.

Power Plays: GP 0-2; FAL 0-2.

Penalties in Minutes: GP 8; FAL 8.