Jeremie Goderis, James Van De Velde, Brendan Keck and Dylan Dacquay did the goal scoring as the Pembina Valley Twisters defeated the St. James Canucks 4-2 Tuesday night in Morris and now lead the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League's best-of-seven final two games to one.

Goderis and Van De Velde scored for Pembina Valley in the first period while Ryan Ostermann had a power play goal for the Canucks.

The second period was scoreless.

Keck's sixth of the post-season just 45 seconds into the final frame increased the Twisters lead to 3-1.

"We were making simple plays this time instead of trying to be fancy," answered Keck when asked why they were so much better Tuesday night compared to the first two games of the series. "We were keeping the puck low, throwing it on net and crashing & banging. Defense was a lot better. We were making simple plays off the glass. It was just a lot better this time."

Dacquay extended Pembina Valley's lead to 4-1 when he beat St. James goaltender Nathan Cvar at 9:35 of the third period.

Canucks forward Tristan Ezako scored the final goal of the game with 66 seconds remaining in regulation.

"We finally got our feet back under us after game one and we're getting our stride again," said forward Braeden Beernaerts who chipped in with a pair of assists in game three. "We're playing the way we should."

Travis Klassen made 42 saves in net for the Twisters who gave up nine goals in the first two games of the series.

Pembina Valley defenseman Jordan Blatz explained why they were so much better in their own zone in game three.

"Mentally just focusing before the game on defensive hockey. If we want to win a championship this year, which is the end goal, we're going to need to play on the D-side of the puck. We might not have done that as well in game one and two but we snuck it out tonight."

Game four goes Thursday (7:30 p.m.) at the St. James Civic Centre with game five scheduled for Saturday night back in Morris.