Living on the KIJHL edge — Leafs rally past NO Kings 3-2
By The Nelson Daily Sports
For 40 minutes the North Okanagan Kings played the perfect road game.
Combining timely scoring with solid fore-checking, the Kings had the Leafs on the ropes, scoring twice in the first and second periods to muster a 2-0 lead after two periods.
However, the Nelson Leafs have been playing the part of dramatic stage actor of late, keeping the crowd at the edge of the seats while saving the best for the end of the play.
Sunday afternoon at the NDCC Arena was no different.
For the third time in three games, the opportunistic Leafs saved the best for last, scoring three unanswered goals in the final frame to edge the North Okanagan Kings 3-2 in Kootenay International Junior Hockey League action in Nelson.
Brendan Smith netted the winning goal on the power play with 19 seconds remaining in the game to power Nelson to its fourth straight win — and sixth in eight games during the month of October.
The win allows the improving Leafs to continue to keep pace with the front-runners in the Murdoch Division of the KIJHL.
Nelson, 9-5, sits four points behind division leading Beaver Valley Nitehawks six weeks into the season.
Sunday, North Okanagan looked like one of the heavyweights in the KIJHL instead of the 3-10-0-0-1 team, sitting last in the Okanagan Division of the KIJHL.
Gritty play allowed the Kings to take a 1-0 lead six minutes into the contest on a goal by Kelsey Byrne.
North Okanagan took a two-goal lead when Liam Molloy beat Joe Barton in the Leaf nets for the game’s second goal less than four minutes into the middle frame.
Nelson then took another hit to the mid section when Leaf captain Rayce Miller was forced to leave the game after losing a couple of chiclets during the second period.
However, midway through the third period Leaf assistant captain Jordan Davie started the comeback with his eight goal of the season.
Nelson, out shooting the Kings 18-3 in the period, continued to press and was rewarded when rookie defenceman Kyle Chernenkoff scored with just over three minutes left in the game.
That set the stage for Smith’s heroics and Nelson’s victory.
Barton stopped 17 of 19 shots to register his fifth victory of the season as Nelson out shot the visitors 34-19.
Nelson hosts Princeton Posse in the lone game Saturday at the NDCC Arena before heading out on a two-game road swing through the Okanagan with stops in Armstrong and Kelowna.
PUCK BANTER: Nelson defeated Grand Forks Border Bruins Friday (overtime) and Castlegar Rebels this past Wednesday by identical 3-2 scores. . . .The loss completed an uneventful weekend for North Okanagan, as the Armstrong based squad lost all three games to Murdoch Division teams — 4-1 Friday against Beaver Valley and 4-0 Saturday to Castlegar. . . . Brendan Smith jumped into the scoring lead for the Leafs with 11 points — four goals and seven assists. Jordan Davie, with a team-leading eight goals, is tied for second with Eamonn Miller, each with nine points. . . .Leafs were missing Austin LIndsay from the lineup. The Nelson forward was held out of the lineup due to injury. . . .Beaver Valley won both its games during the weekend to maintain top spot in the Murdoch Division. The Hawks defeated North Okanagan before outlasting an improved Grand Forks Border Bruins team Saturday 6-4.
