Despite a pair of losses over the weekend which knocked them off their Neil Murdoch Division perch, the Nelson Junior Leafs are using the bump in the road as motivation.
On Friday night the Leafs headed over the pass and lost 5-2 to the Creston Valley Thunder Cats. The locals followed it up with a 3-2 loss to the Beaver Valley Nitehawks on Saturday in Fruitvale.
“Mentally we were not ready and we will have to make some changes to our preparation and pre-game for upcoming games,” Leafs coach Frank Maida said about the Friday night stumble.
“On Friday night we came out flat and fell behind. We had to play catch up all game and things just didn’t pan out.”
Creston came out firing in the opening period, scoring three goals, including two on the powerplay. Scott Butters opened the scoring midway through the period when he beat Leafs starter Andrew Walton. Scott Swiston and Trevor Forward added to the lead with powerplay markers.
The Leafs responded eight minutes into the second period when Colton Schell cut the deficit to 3-1 when he beat Tyler Moffat.
Penalty problems again haunted the Leafs a couple minutes later when Brandon Formosa capitalized on the powerplay to regain Creston’s three goal lead.
Before the second period ended Swiston added his second goal of the game to increase the host’s lead to 5-1.
The Leafs outshot Creston in the third period 14-8, but only Dallon Stoddart was able to tally.
“We’re a young team and you start playing with your mind, thinking you are going to go out and help the team out by getting a goal,” Maida said about trying to stage a comeback. “Then you start playing outside the system and things start going sideways.”
On Saturday night the Leafs travelled to Fruitvale for the third game of the season against Beaver Valley, but the first in the ‘Hawks nest.
“It was a good game,” Maida said of the Saturday contest. “We competed and played very well. We ran out of gas with a shortened bench, but we played hard all game. We didn’t get any bounces or breaks.”
In what was a goaltender duel between two of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s top puck stoppers — Nelson’s 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.
“It’s a small rink and they have built a reputation about playing in that rink,” Maida said about the first visit of the season to Fruitvale. “It took us a period to understand that it’s just another game. We adjusted… we had a good second and third period. The boys played very well and I told them after the game that I wasn’t disappointed in how we played, disappointed that we lost just like they were, but not disappointed in the effort.”
The Leafs are currently facing a rash of injuries. On the blueline Walker Sidoni, Blake Arcuri and Riley Henderson all missed weekend action. Up front a key absence was Matti Jmaeff who started the season on point scoring tear.
“It’s part of hockey,” Maida said. “The stretch of games that we went through earlier this month, the injuries just started to catch up to us. We’re on the mend now.”
Despite failing to pick any points, Maida said he was particularly optimistic about the way his squad played on Saturday.
“We are 1-2 against Beaver Valley, but could be 3-0,” he said. “In the first game we are up on them and let the lead slip away. This weekend it could have easily went either way. The players are really looking forward to playing them again.
“There’s always a special rivalry going against Beaver Valley and Castlegar. I think we can expect really good games all year when we play them. Hard working games with really good battles.”
The Leafs hit the road this weekend for three games in the Similkameen/Okanagan. The Leafs next home game is November 12 at the NDCC.