The referees may not have shown up, but the Nelson Leafs sure did.
Nelson’s game against the Spokane Braves on Sunday afternoon was delayed an hour by the absence of the officiating crew, who were not aware a game had been scheduled.
When the game finally got underway, it looked as though only one team was on the ice. Jack Karran scored twice as Nelson routed the Braves 6-0 to win their fifth in a row.
Shawn Campbell, Kaleb Comishin, Easton Jolie and Dylan Rantucci also scored for Nelson (11-1-0), while Caiden Kreitz earned the shutout by stopping 26 shots.
The win followed a 3-1 victory on the road against the Creston Valley Thunder Cats on Friday and a 5-2 result against the Osoyoos Coyotes at home Saturday.
Against Creston Valley, Nelson scored three unanswered goals from Comishin, Rantucci and Ryan Piva. Kreitz meanwhile made 31 saves.
The Leafs never trailed against Osoyoos. Karran scored twice, while Tyler Nypower, Alek Erichuk and Mitchell Lavoie added singles and C.J. Wedenig stopped 20 shots.
The busy weekend leaves Nelson six points ahead of the second-place Beaver Valley Nitehawks in the Neil Murdoch Division. The Leafs have the KIJHL’s second-best record and trail only the Kelowna Chiefs who are 12-0-1.
Nelson is two games into a six-game homestand. The Leafs will play the Nitehawks on Friday.
tyler.harper@nelsonstar.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
