Patrick Martens put an exclamation mark on his return to the Nelson Leafs from the BCHL this weekend by scoring five times in two road wins in East Kootenay.
Martens began his onslaught Friday with a natural hat trick in the first period against Golden. The Leafs then held on for a 3-2 win.
Colton Schell assisted on Martens’ first two markers, while his third was shorthanded and unassisted.
The Rockets started to claw their way back in the third, and scored a powerplay marker with 22 seconds remaining to make it close, but it wasn’t enough.
The Leafs outshot the Rockets 33-28. Andrew Walton picked up the win in goal.
On Saturday, Martens continued his torrid scoring pace by notching two more goals and an assist in a 4-1 win over the sad sack Columbia Valley Rockies.
Eric Spring opened the scoring seven and a half minutes into the first on the powerplay. Martens followed five minutes later.
The only goal of the second period came from Carson Willans to make it 3-0.
The Rockies got on the board in the third thanks to a powerplay goal from Cody Stevenson, but Martens restored the three-goal cushion with a powerplay marker of his own at the ten-minute mark.
Patrick Defoe stopped 16 of 17 Rockies shots for the win, while Travis Beekhuizen faced 37 Leafs shots in taking the loss.
Martens, who returned to the Leafs last weekend from the Langley Rivermen of the BCHL, now leads the team with 28 goals. He also has 18 assists.
Nelson remains firmly in third in the Murdoch division, 15 points back of the second-place Castlegar Rebels and 13 points ahead of the fourth-place Spokane Braves.
