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The Nelson Leafs can now start to make plans for the post season.
The Leafs clinched the franchise's fourth consecutive Neil Murdoch Division title Friday by taming the Posse 4-3 in Princeton.
The win combined with Castlegar's 4-1setback to the Thunder Cats in Creston gave the Green and White the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League divisional crown.
“What I liked was we kept [winning the division] in our hands,” Leaf coach and GM Simon Wheeldon told the Daily News Sunday.
“We didn’t back in. We did what we had to do. We won our games.”
Entering the weekend, Castlegar, 28-14-2-2, needed to sweep the remaining six games while as the same time Nelson had to garner only three of a possible eight points during their four contests for the Rebels to overtake the Leafs.
Nelson, 35-10-2-1, completed the mini-road trip through the Okanagan/Shuswap Conference Saturday with a 4-3-overtime victory over the Penticton Lakers.
Gavin Currie, scoring his second straight game winner, won the game for Nelson 22 seconds into the first overtime period.
“Penticton isn’t as bad as people think,” Wheeldon admitted. “They’re a really young team having their players belong to the Okanagan Hockey Academy and don’t have veteran leadership to get them through.”
In Princeton, the surging Posse gave the Leafs everything they could handle, out shooting Nelson 37-24 in a game that had a playoff-type atmosphere.
Eighteen of those shots came in the third period when the Leafs ran into penalty trouble. Princeton had five consecutive power plays, scoring the tying marker with Dane Rupert off for high sticking.
Billy Faust was able to hold the fort for most of the frame until Currie snapped a 3-3 tie with the game winner with Nelson playing short handed.
“Our powerplay could have iced the game for us again but it didn’t,” Wheeldon explained.
“The difference in the game was the first 10 or 12 minutes when we were all over them,” Wheeldon added. “Then we sat back and allowed them back into the game.”
Connor McLaughlin, Sean Muller and Michael Spring also scored for Nelson.
Saturday, the lowly Lakers gave the Leafs everything they could handle.
The teams played to a scoreless tie after one period and were even at 2-2 after 40 minutes.
Nelson Minor Hockey product Adrian Moyles, with his eighth marker of the season, and scored for the Leafs.
In the third Jonathan Petrash gave Nelson a 3-2 advantage three minutes into the frame. But Colton Schell beat Matthew Larose in the Nelson nets two minutes later to send the game into extra time.
“Matt played really well for us,” said Wheeldon, giving everyone ample playing time after clinching the Murdoch Friday.
“Penticton is a well-conditioned team and they kept us up with for most of the game.”
Nelson concludes the season this weekend with a game Friday in Fernie. The contest could be a preview of the Kootenay Conference Final.
Saturday, Nelson hosts Grand Forks Border Bruins at 7 p.m. in the NDCC Arena.
ICE CHIPS: Nelson welcomed back team captain Taylor O'Neil to the team. The rugged defenceman has missed the last 13 games with a foot injury. . . .The Murdoch playoffs have been set with Nelson facing Beaver Valley and Castlegar hooking up with Spokane. The Braves sent the Rebels an early playoff message, edging Castlegar 2-1 Saturday in the Sunflower City. . . .Leafs open the playoffs Friday, Feb. 19 at home.
