Leafs have all the shots but Posse get the goals in 4-2 victory over Nelson
By The Nelson Daily Sports
It’s four losses and counting for the Nelson Leafs.
Princeton Posse scored twice in the opening four minutes to double the Nelson Leafs 4-2 in Kootenay International Junior Hockey League action Friday in Samilkameen Country.
The loss is the first of a three-game road swing through the Okanagan Conference.
Nelson, failing to take advantage of a loss by Murdoch-leading Beaver Valley Nitehawks to Creston Friday, has not won since October 22 when the Leafs defeated the Columbia Valley Rockies.
Jaden Janzen and Alex Demchuk gave the home side the early lead after beating Andrew Walton in the Leaf nets.
Carsen Willans, with his fourth of the season, cut the margin to 2-1 before the period ended as the Leafs pounded Princeton goalie Phoenix Logan-Hill with 14 shots.
Nelson, tossing everything but the kitchen sink at the Posse, continued its assault on the Princeton goal with 12 more shots in the second, but was denied by Logan-Hill.
In the third the teams combined for three goals in a span of 49 seconds, but it was the Posse scoring two of the markers to pull out the victory.
Eric Kubis and Kurtis Bond completed the scoring for Princeton while affiliate player Colton Dawson, with his first ever Junior Hockey goal, replied for the Leafs.
Nelson finished the game out shooting the Posse 39-22.
The Leafs continued the road trip Saturday in Kelowna against the Chiefs.
BLUELINES: The Leafs record falls to 12-7-0-1. . . .The Posse officially ended the scoring streak of Nelson sniper Patrick Martens at 14 games. During the streak Martens, falling to fifth in KIJHL scoring race, scored 18 times while adding 14 helper for 32 points. . . .Nelson’s high-powered offence has hit a low during the losing streak. In five previous games before the streak, all wins, the Leafs averaged five goals per game. During the recent four losses that goal output has dropped to three per game, with three of the games Nelson only managing two goals. . . .The Leafs had defenceman Walker Sidoni and forward Matti Jmaeff back in the lineup. Jmaeff has struggled of late and not scored in four games.
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