NIAGARA FALLS — The Power enter the final week of the season gasping for breath.

That’s ’cause the air is thinner near the top.

Manager Eric Ebers’ eager beavers put a sheen on their playoff prospects by polishing off the Sherrill Silversmiths, 7-3 and 1-0, before a merry multitude totaling 572 at Sal Maglie Stadium on Saturday night.

The Power did what good teams do, exploiting an unfocused foe in the first game and pouring on the pitching in the second. Paul “Buckeye” Geuy flirted with a no-hitter in the nightcap, five outs away before the romance ended.

Now it’s on to the final days, five teams in the Western Division jammed in like a good girl’s stocking on Christmas morn. After all the precincts were counted, the Power stood solidly in second, one game behind Webster.

Geuy ruled into the sixth inning of the seven-inning game, only two balls to the outfield, not even a whiff of a hit. But Brandon Constantino, who’d gone 4-4 in the opener, stepped up after striking out twice drilled a triple that not even Brendan Collins could catch up to in centerfield.

With the tying run 90 feet away and the infield in, shortstop Marcus “You Betcha’” Euechi stepped up not once but thrice. Julian Castro zapped a laser off Ryan Williams at second, the ball bounding right to Euechi who almost picked Constantino off third. Castro stole second, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position, one out.

Jeff Cyrus slapped a grounder to Euechi who held the runner and retired the batter with the aid of a Gazette-worthy scoop by Billy Logan at first. Clean-up Eric Doyle then rifled one over Geuy’s shoulder, base hit written all over it. Euechi erased it with a full-speed run to his left and bulls-eye to Logan. As "Mr. No" made balloons for the throng, the air went right out of the Smitties.

Geuy yielded another single in the seventh, then tried to field a final-out pop-up himself before third-baseman Frank Polino insisted on following protocol. Geuy struck out eight, walked two. Justin Fahy, walking to lead off the game, scored the one and only run on a balk, sticking ‘smith Drew Peterson with an difficult loss.

The opener was a whole different drawer of knives, with Logan “Houdini” Nordquist giving up five leadoff base-runners in six innings. Nordquist has won his last two starts in which opponents totaled 23 hits, but walked nobody. Behind the plate, Logan held keep Sherrill at bay with several drill-sergeant throws.

Fahy, Collins, Polino, Williams, Logan and Nicholas Ferlise had two hits apiece, remarkable in that the team batted only six times. Sherrill’s Mike Sherlock covered centerfield like a tarp, a serial larcenist, eight catches in the two games, many worthy of a highlight reel. But Sherrill dropped to 8-25, and most team with similar records have figured out plenty of ways to come up on the short. But for Bolt Nuts, this is a whole different twist.

POWER POINTS: Team President Cal Kern, who got scolded Friday night for running in the aisles, has turned over “wave duty” to Jon Beebe, who commands the fandom in the style of King Canute. By any standards, it’s hysterica. l… The twinbill had its roots in an exhibition Kern lined up last year when Sherrill played in the Eastern Collegiate League, now part of the New York State League. Without that “outreach” the league was in danger of folding. … Only two home dates remain, Tuesday and next Saturday. … Back in the house: Matt Bernat, groundskeeper extraordinare and Gold Medal schmoozer, his enthusiasm only honed by retirement.