It's the Stewart Show as Leafs double Braves 6-3
By The Nelson Daily Sports
By Nelson Daily Sports
Joel Stewart continues to stick it to his former team.
The ex-Brave had three points to lead the Nelson Leafs to a 6-3 victory over Spokane in Kootenay International Junior Hockey League play Sunday afternoon in the Lilac City.
The win is the second in as many games for the Leafs over the Braves and starts 2011 off on the right foot for the Green and White, which opened a six-point lead over Spokane in the race for third spot in the Murdoch Division.
Even so, the road to the victory really wasn’t glazed over with smooth pavement for the Leafs.
Nelson looked to be in complete control after 35 minutes, leading 3-0 on goals by Brennan Foreman, Colton Schell and Cody Abbey, back from a three-game suspension. But the Braves exploded for three goals in a five-minute span to tie the game at 3-3.
Nick Redding got the comeback started with a power play goal. Jesse Collins scored with 65 seconds left in the frame before Guisseppe Dippolito converted another man advantage opportunity with 19 seconds left on the clock.
However, it was now Stewart-Time for the Leafs.
The 20-year-old sniper scored on the power play 40 seconds into the third period, then combined with newcomer Dustin Johnson for an insurance marker to put Nelson into the lead at 5-3. Raymond Reimer, playing his third game after a long stint on the injury list, scored the other goal for Nelson.
Spokane held a 40-29 advantage in shots on goal, including a 13-7 margin in the third period.
Darren Hogg, becoming the go-to guy for Leaf coach Chris Shaw, had to be sharp in goal to register the win.
OVERTIME: Nelson, 19-15-0-1, improves to 5-2 against Spokane this season, with two of those victories coming in the Lilac City. . . . Joel Stewart has six points against his former mates. . . .Colton
Schell also registered three points against the Braves Sunday while Brennan Foreman and Cody Abbey each had two. . . .Newcomer Dustin Johnson, coming to Nelson after playing in the B.C. Hockey league this season with Merritt and Victoria, had an instant impact with two points. The 6’2”, 200-pound forward accumulated 67 points last season with the Centennials. . . .The acquisition of Johnson couldn’t have come at a better time for the Leafs after the team’s leading scorer Gavin Currie went down in the New Year’s Eve contest against Spokane with an apparent shoulder injury. Currie did not play Sunday in Spokane. . . .Nelson takes to the road for a trek into the East Kootenay. The Leafs face the Ghostriders, Golden Rockets and Columbia Valley Rockies during a three-game swing against Eddie Mountain opposition starting Friday in Fernie.
sports@thenelsondaily.com
