The Nelson Leafs were dominated during a difficult two-game road trip.
The Leafs gave up six unanswered goals Friday en route to an 8-3 blowout loss in Golden against the Rockets.
Nick Morin had a four-point game for Golden (17-9-1) with three goals and an assist, while Hayden Barr, Jordan Lario, Evan Tsadilas, Austin Angus and Dominic Fiorentino also scored. Rockets goaltender Matthew Kuhnlein finished with 39 saves.
Johnny Carmichael scored twice for Nelson, while Owen McFarlane added a single and Jasper Tait stopped 23 shots in net.
The next night in Invermere, the Leafs were run out of the building 6-0 by the league-leading Columbia Valley Rockies (19-5-2).
Six different goal scorers beat Nelson goaltender Frederick Larochelle, who finished with 38 saves.
Keenan Ingram, Harrison Aldridge, Kyran Gromnisky, Jonah Fournier, Reed Sparrow and Blake Hiltermann each scored, with Gromnisky’s coming shorthanded.
Nelson was outshot 22-5 in the third period. Rockies goalie Brett Sweet made 26 saves for the shutout.
The losses dropped Nelson (14-8-3) five points behind the Grand Forks Border Bruins for first place in the Neil Murdoch Division. The Leafs visit the Beaver Valley Nitehawks on Friday before hosting the Osoyoos Coyotes on Saturday.