The Beaver Valley Nitehawks are poised for another three-game weekend starting tonight (Friday) in Nelson against the Leafs.
The Nitehawks have a prime opportunity to climb back into contention for top spot in the Neil Murdoch Division with home tilts against the Summerland Steam Saturday and Golden Rockets on Sunday, but first they have to figure out a way to topple the Kootenay Conference leading Leafs.
See related read: Nitehawks lose ground to surging Leafs
B.V. lost both games last weekend on a road trip to Golden and Columbia Valley, and fell six points back of 11-1-0-0 Nelson, who swept their three games. The 8-5-0-0 Nitehawks have already lost two close games against Nelson this season, most recently a 3-0 loss at the Hawks Nest on Oct. 6, and will look for a different result tonight.
The Leafs have been rolling along this season, and would have been undefeated if not for a game forfeited to the Castlegar Rebels due to an illegal player. Trail native Ryan Piva has been on fire, tallying 11 goals and 24 points so far this season, good for third in the KIJHL.
On Saturday, the Hawks face a 6-6-1-0 Summerland team coming into Beaver Valley with a head of steam. Summerland walloped the Kamloops Storm 12-2 on Saturday after skating to a 2-2 draw with Osoyoos Coyotes Friday. The Steam sit in second place in the Okanagan division, well back of the league leaders, Kelowna Chiefs at 13-0-0-1.
The Hawks will also look for payback on Sunday when the host the Rockets from Golden. The Rockets eked out a 4-3 win over B.V. a week ago, have a 6-5-0-1 record, and currently sit in fourth place in the Eddie Mountain Division.
B.V.’s offence has been firing on all cylinders, scoring 56 goals in 13 games, the most in the Kootenay Conference. However, with injury to goalie Noah Decottignies, the defence will need to buckle down and step up if they expect good results against the Leafs, Steam, and Rockets this weekend. Hawks forward Morgan Peace is also out of the line up this weekend.
B.V. faces off in Nelson at 7 p.m. Friday, play the Steam at the B.V. Arena Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and the Rockets Sunday at 1 p.m. at the B.V. Arena.