Pirates live to fight another day

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.