Nitehawks win eighth straight to pull away in Murdoch Division; Leafs pounded by Thunder Cats
By The Nelson Daily Sports
While the rest of the division flounders, the Beaver Valley Nitehawks are quietly putting some separation between them and the rest of the Murdoch Division teams.
The Hawks won for the eighth straight time Saturday, posting a 4-0 shutout of the Fernie Ghostriders in Kootenay International Junior Hockey League action in Fruitvale.
Devin Ghirardosi scored twice as Beaver Valley increased its lead in the Murdoch Division to seven points over the Nelson Leafs.
The Green and White lost for the second time in as many games as the Creston Valley Thunder Cats spanked Nelson 7-1.
McKoy Hauck and Ghirardosi scored singles in the second period to back a 28-save performance of Tallon Kramer in the Beaver Valley nets.
Tyler Hartman scored the other goal for Beaver Valley, which edged Creston 3-2 Friday.
Meanwhile in Creston, Nelson was smothered by a Thunder Cats team still licking wounds from the loss to Beaver Valley the night before.
The Cats struck for three first period goals before Ryan Piva stopped some of the bleeding with a shorthanded marker to start the second.
However, the Thunder Cats kept on coming scoring three more times to lead 6-1 after 40 minutes.
The six goals chased Nelson starter Devin Allen from the nets as Ben Kelsch mopped up the game in goal in the third.
Grant Iles led the Creston attack with two goals while Liam Plunkett had four assists.
Former Leaf Patrick Ostermann face 15 shots to register the win in goal for Creston. The Thunder Cats peppered Nelson goalies for 39 shots, including a 19-4 advantage in the second period.
The game degenerated into a chippy affair with more than 150 penalty minutes in the third period.
Grand Forks, which had lost five consecutive games, snapped the winless streak by outlasting Golden Rockets 3-1 in the Boundary City.
Silas Johnson, Trey Mason and Conner Brennan, on the power play, scored for the Bruins, which held period leads of 1-0 and 3-0.
Anthony Galliart stopped 18 of 19 shots to register his fourth win of the season.
Castlegar Rebels exploded for seven third period goals to dump Spokane Braves 11-6 Saturday in Castlegar.
John Moeller led the charge with four goals and three assists for seven points.
Ed Lindsay had five points while Brandon Costa finished with three points.
Castlegar scored five special teams goals, including one shorthanded tally late in the game.
Nelson travels to Grand Forks for mid-week encounter with the Bruins Tuesday.
The Leafs return home Friday to host Beaver Valley and Fernie Ghostriders Saturday.
