The Hawks are heading to Canada in search of their first Northwest League championship since 2004.

Boise defeated the Yakima Bears 3-2 on Wednesday night to clinch the East Divisional Series. Boise lost the first game of the series at home and had to win two lose-or-go-home games on the road to earn the division title.

Wednesday’s victory was a nail-biter to the end, as Boise took a 3-0 lead in the third inning and then managed to make those three runs hold up for the win.

Catcher Willson Contreras scored on a wild pitch for the first run of the game. Later in the third, Dan Vogelbach’s single to left field drove in Trey Martin and Gioskar Amaya.

Boise starter Felix Pena threw seven scoreless innings, but Yakima scored two in the eighth, thanks in part to an Amaya error. But before the inning was over Amaya redeemed himself with a play from his knees that got Yakima’s Jacob House out at first and prevented the tying run from scoring. Reliever Eddie Orozco got the final five outs for the dramatic save.

The Hawks will now go to Vancouver to take on the Canadians, who are the defending league champions. Boise went 5-5 against Vancouver in the regular season.

Championship Series schedule:

Game 1: Boise at Vancouver, 8:05 p.m. Thursday.

Game 2: Vancouver at Boise, 6:45 p.m. Saturday.

Game 3: Vancouver at Boise, 6:45 p.m. Sunday (if necessary).

• Playoff tickets cost $6 to $14 and are available at boisehawks.com. The team’s box office will open at 10 a.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Season ticket-holders will be able to purchase their seats until 10 a.m. Saturday before they are released to the public. Call 322-5000 for more information.