Hawks pound Leafs 13-2 in Murdoch Division playoff opener
By The Nelson Daily Sports
The Nelson Daily Sports
So much for the Nelson Leafs surprising the Beaver Valley Nitehawks.
The Hawks exploded for seven first-period goals en route to a 13-2 trouncing of the Leafs in game one of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League Divisional Semi Final series Tuesday in Fruitvale.
Beaver Valley leads the best-of-seven series 1-0 with game two set for Wednesday night in Fruitvale. Games three and four shift back to Nelson Friday and Saturday at the NDCC Arena. Puck drops at 7 p.m. both nights.
Beaver Valley showed no signs of not being ready for the Leafs, despite the last three games in the regular season being decided by one goal.
Keanan Patershuk and Austin Sture gave the hosts a 2-0 lead eight minutes into the game.
Then the Beaver Valley offence kicked into high gear as the Hawks struck for five unanswered goals, three coming on the power play to lead 7-0 after 20 minutes.
Beaver Valley finished with four power play goals.
Beaver Valley increased the margin to 8-0 before the Leafs scored twice as Raymond Reimer and Cameron Dobransky beat Mike Vlanich in the Hawks’ nets.
In the third period the Hawks show no signs of letting up on the Green and White, pouring in another five markers on beleaguered goalie Nick Broessler, who had replaced starter Marcus Beesley late in the second period.
Broessler was an emergency signing for Nelson after roster goalie Darren Hogg was listed as unavailable for the post season due to a lower body injury.
Hogg has not played since early January.
Taylor Love and Dallas Calvin led the onslaught each finishing with five points. Daniel Bishop and Keanan Patershuk each had four points, including two goals.
Tyler Collins also had two goals while Love, Colton Donselaar, Ryan Edwards, Chris Derochie, Brantley Schapansky and Sture added singles.
Nelson Minor Hockey grad Ryon Sookro, who led the Hawks in scoring this season, finished with a point.
Beaver Valley out shot Nelson 44-27, including a 23-10 margin in the first period.
PLAYOFF NOTES: Leaf captain Taylor O’Neil tried to shake up his troops by going toe-to-toe early in the second period with Jean-William Caron of the Hawks. . . .Cody Abbey, the instigator, was also involved in some fisticuffs with Taylor Love of Beaver Valley. . . .Nelson’s Big Three scorers, Colton Schell, Gavin Currie and Joel Stewart, along with late-season BCHL signing Dustin Johnson, were all held scoreless. . . .Kootenay Ice affiliate player Jesse Knowler scored in overtime to spark the Castlegar Rebels to a 7-6 victory over Spokane in game two of the Murdoch semi final. Spokane had tied the game with 20 seconds remaining in the third period. The Rebels lead the series 2-0 with game three set for Thursday in Spokane. Castlegar won the opener 5-1.
sports@thenelsondaily.com
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