The Nelson Leafs scored first and never looked back as they shut out the Osoyoos Coyotes 7-0 Saturday night at the NDCC.
Travis Wellman led the way with two goals and an assist and five other Leaf players chipped in with two-points each.
Tyler Garcia opened it up for the Leafs midway through the first off a pass from Patrick Croome. Alec Wilkinson scored with help from Wellman and Dunlap with 12:42 left in the second. Wellman made it 3-0 on a breakaway.
The Coyotes thought they’d made it 3-1 late in the second but the puck went in after the whistle.
Osoyoos struggled on the power play failing to capitalize on seven chances while the Leafs went two for five with the man advantage.
Wellman dampened the Coyote’s hopes of a comeback when he scored on the power play six seconds into the third period.
Darnel St. Pierre put it away with the man advantage near the midway mark with Blair Andrews and Brandon Sookro assisting.
With 7:43 left in the third, Cole Arcuri made it 6-0 on the pass from Robson
Cramer. Dunlap got the Leafs seventh goal less than a minute later with Garcia and St. Pierre assisting.
Brad Rebagliati earned the shutout for the Leafs, stopping all 30 shots he faced.
“We were focused and ready right from the drop of the puck. We didn’t give them an opportunity to get into the game,” said Leafs coach Frank Maida.
It was the second win in as many nights for the locals, who defeated the Spokane Braves 2-1 in overtime in Spokane on Friday.
These were the first two games for the Leafs since losing top scorer Jamie Vlanich to the BCHL’s Langley Rivermen.
Maida said his squad would have to step things up now that Vlanich was gone, and it appears the players listened.
“I think the whole team stepped up and played a solid five out of six periods,” said Maida.
He felt the first period of Friday’s Spokane contest could have gone a little smoother.
“I think we needed to find ourselves and our legs and started a little slow. But in the second period we came out and took over the play.”
It was a tight game in Spokane with the Leafs Carson Willans scoring the winning goal in overtime.
The Braves Tanner Stolz scored the only goal for his team late in the first period.
It wasn’t until late in the second that the Leafs tied it up despite many shots on goal. St. Pierre finally found the back of the net with help from Arcuri and Andrews just over four minutes left in the period.
The Leafs kept up pressure in the third again outshooting the Braves but the score remained tied at the end of regulation play.
Linden Horswill and St. Pierre fed Willans the puck with just under four minutes left in overtime to make the final 2-1 for the Leafs.
The pair of wins increases the local club’s unbeaten in regulation streak to 17 games.
Despite the streak, Maida said its time to get back to work.
“It’s about paying attention to details each week and I think we’re becoming a better and better team each time.”
The Leafs have a busy long weekend ahead with three games — two at home and one on the road. They play Princeton Posse at the NDCC on Friday and Spokane on Saturday. On Sunday they travel to Creston take on the Thunder Cats.
—With files from Kevin Mills