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If this Leafs team didn't have bad luck, team would have no luck at all

The Nelson Daily Sports
By The Nelson Daily Sports
February 6th, 2015

Two weekends to fine-tune a Good Leaf ship that has been has struggled to get all the oars in the water at the same time.

And once again there will be a few oars missing when the Leafs take to the road for a Kootenay International Junior Hockey League road trip to Chase (Friday) and Kamloops (Saturday).

“It’s been a matter of getting healthy,” said Leaf coach Dave McLellan.

“We’ve been looking forward at getting our players back and building consistency. But we’ve haven’t been able to do that since before Christmas with all the injuries.”

McLellan, who under the terms of his recent suspension can coach the team during practice but can’t be with the players one hour before and after games, was dealt another blow when star forward Dylan Williamson went down with another injury during Tuesday’s game against Beaver Valley.

Williamson, who McLellan said is still having the injury assessed, joins Timothy Nichols, Aaron Brewer and Branden Chow on the injured-reserve list.

Also hurt is defenceman Brendan Smith while forward/defenceman Blair Andrews is serving a two-game suspension after receiving a five-minute major for check to the head during Saturday’s win over Grand Forks.

“Right now we’re trying to develop the mental focus of playing in a seven-game series,” said McLellan.

Defending KIJHL champion Beaver Valley will be Nelson’s opponent when the playoffs begin later this month.

To be the best, Leafs must play against the best

Leaf coach Dave McLellan is happy to see two of the top teams in the KIJHL on the schedule during this stretch run.

Kamloops Storm lead the Doug Birks Division while Chase Heat is second, two points in front of Sicamous Eagles.

“I’d much rather be playing the tougher teams late in the season,” McLellan said.

“The only way to get better is to be playing better teams.”

McLellan thought the Leafs played an exceptional game Tuesday in Fruitvale against the Hawks, and were unfortunate not to come out on the winning side of the score after carrying the play to Beaver Valley for part of the second and all of the third periods.

Karrer appears to be the No. 1 netminder

The success of the Leafs in goal appears to be riding on the shoulders of netminder Joey Karrer.

Leaf coach Dave McLellan said the Smithers native will get the starts this weekend to help boost his confidence heading into the playoffs.

McLellan said other than an unfortunate goal Tuesday, Karrer played a strong game for Nelson.

Leafs finish off regular seasons at home against Castlegar

The Leafs finish off the regular season next weekend with a couple of dates against Murdoch opposition.

Nelson travels to Grand Forks to face the Border Bruins before concluding the regular season with a Sunday afternoon tilt at home against Castlegar Rebels.

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