With a slightly altered line-up, the Nelson Leafs exacted revenge Saturday against Spokane for snapping their winning streak a week ago.
Adam Maida made 24 saves as the Leafs blasted the Braves 8-0 on the road.
Nelson’s scoring was evenly distributed, with four players earning two points each, and nine others picking up one apiece. Timothy Nichols, Rayce Miller, and Dylan Williamson each scored a goal and an assist, while Nolan Percival had two helpers.
The Leafs scored three times on the power play and outshot the Braves 46-24.
It was 3-0 after the first period and 4-0 after the second.
The game got rough in the dying minutes as Percival and Aaron Brewer both received misconducts, along with three Spokane players. The Braves were also assessed an unusual bench game misconduct as the buzzer sounded.
Last Sunday, Spokane beat Nelson 4-3 to end a five-game winning streak.
The Leafs also won Friday night, 5-2 against Creston Valley.
Newly-acquired forward Drew Carter and Austin Lindsay led the way with a goal and an assist each while Robson Cramer contributed two assists. Maida made 22 saves in goal.
The Thunder Cats actually outshot the Leafs 24-23. Nelson led 4-0 after two periods.
With the wins, Nelson improved its record to 14-4-2-1 and solidified its lead atop the Neil Murdoch Division, four points ahead of the surging Beaver Valley Nitehawks, who have one game in hand.
The Leafs’ .738 winning percentage puts them third overall in the KIJHL, behind only Osoyoos and Fernie. They have also scored the second highest number of goals with 94.
Nelson’s success this weekend followed the loss of three players who missed curfew on Halloween, namely top goalie Brett Soles, and defencemen Brendan Smith and Cody Paivarinta. Soles was traded to Osoyoos on Friday for Drew Carter and goalie Brandon Locket plus future considerations.
Smith is also expected to be traded, while Paivarinta has been sent home to Abbotsford.
