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Leafs lose grip on first

The Nelson Junior Leafs were knocked off the Neil Murdoch Division perch after at 3-2 loss
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The Leafs dropped a first-place showdown with the Beaver Valley Nitehawks on Saturday night.

The Nelson Junior Leafs were knocked off the Neil Murdoch Division perch after at 3-2 loss to the Beaver Valley Nitehawks Saturday night in Fruitvale.

In what was a goaltender duel between two of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s top puck stoppers — Nelson’s Andrew Walton and Beaver Valley’s Mike Vlanich — it was the home side that escaped with the victory.

The Nitehawks opened the scoring seven minutes into the game when Craig Martin beat Walton, who was getting his second start in a row for the Leafs. And 1-0 is what the score remained when the buzzer went on the first.

In the second period it was the Leafs who responded first when Colton Schell scored his tenth goal of the season to tie the score. The Nitehawks got the lead back midway through the middle frame when Martin notched his second of the game on the powerplay.

The third period was a back and forth affair with both goaltenders doing their best to give their team the advantage.

With just over three minutes left in the game, Keanan Patershuk gave Beaver Valley a two-goal cushion. But the Leafs kept fighting and Leafs sniper Patrick Martens scored on the powerplay with just under three minutes left.

Despite a strong push at the end, the Leafs couldn’t muster the tying goal.

The loss pushed the Nitehawks one point ahead of the Leafs who have held down the top spot in the division since the second week of the season.