The Nelson Junior Leafs are set to take on a new opponent and an old foe in home ice action this weekend.
The Leafs start with a Friday night game against the Kelowna Chiefs, who are sitting second in the Okanagan Division with a 20-18 record. The Chiefs are the last out-of-division team the Leafs will face until mid-February.
Saturday’s home game is the first of three games against the Beaver Valley Nitehawks set for the remainder of the month. And Leafs head coach Chris Shaw says he thinks they’ll be an important yardstick as his team heads towards provincials.
“It’s looking like we could see Beaver Valley in the first round [of playoffs],” he says.
“It’s going to be a test for us and let us have a gauge against what we’re going to have in the playoffs. Obviously you want to get those wins for the points in the standings, and also just to bring that added confidence going into the playoffs.”
The Leafs also have another divisional rival to face next Tuesday, when the Castlegar Rebels visit the Nelson and District Community Complex at 7 p.m.