Skip to content

Leafs shed Nitehawks

The Nelson Junior Leafs head into back-to-back weekend games with a big win Wednesday night against the Beaver Valley Nitehawks.
49473westernstar10_20leafsvsbv
Leafs forward Max Mois gets a chance on Wednesday night against the Nitehawks.

The Nelson Junior Leafs head into back-to-back weekend games with a big win Wednesday night against the Beaver Valley Nitehawks.

The midweek victory over their Neil Murdoch Division rivals is the third in a row for the Leafs after a successful road trip to the Okanagan last weekend.

The Leafs were the first to get on the board Wednesday at the Nelson and Distruct Community Complex with a goal from rookie Matthew Naka with only six and a half minutes left in the opening period.

The score was 1-0 going into the second, but it was the Nitehawks who came out of the dressing room with the jump and tied the game 11 minutes into the period. One minute later they beat Leafs starter Andrew Walton to take a 2-1 lead.

The Leafs didn’t let the pressure get to them as James Sorey slid the puck behind Mike Vlanich tying the game twos.

The game looked like it would go into the third period with a tied score, but with one second left in the second period, Leafs veteran Patrick Martens snuck the puck past Vlanich giving the Leafs a one goal lead headed into the final period.

Momentum shifted during a Nitehawks powerplay giving them the chance to score, but Max Mois regained the one goal edge with a strong goal halfway through the period.

With seconds left in the game, Martens came back scoring another goal on the Nitehawk’s empty net.

The Leafs play again on home ice at the Nelson and District Community Complex when they take on the Columbia Valley Rockies on Saturday night at 7 p.m. On Sunday the Leafs are back in action on home ice against the Summerland Steam starting at 2 p.m..