It was only a matter of time before the two remaining perfect records in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) would fall, as the Neil Murdoch division Beaver Valley Nitehawks and Nelson Leafs entered the weekend with perfect 5-0 starts.
The Nitehawks beat the Spokane Braves on Friday night 6-1, pushing their record to 6-0-0. However, the Osoyoos Coyotes plundered the Hawks Nest and rudely knocked the Hawks from their perfect 6-0 perch by beating the home team 4-1 at home on Saturday.
Luc Gradisar scored on a power play at the end of the first period and Bradley Williams added the lone second-period goal to give the Coyotes a 2-0 lead heading into the third period. Williams scored his second of the night at 15:51 of the third before the Nitehawks got on the board.
The Hawks’ Taylor Stafford made it 3-1 converting a pass from Mitch Foyle and Ryan Edwards. Jackson DeMatos would complete the scoring with his fifth goal of the season to make it 4-1 with just over two minutes remaining.
Josh Round took the loss in net for the Hawks, stopping 23 of 27 shots while Lawrence Langan stopped 26 of 27 for the Coyotes.
On Friday the Nitehawks’ Ryan Edwards netted a hat trick, Russell Mortlock notched his first goal of the season, while Sam Swanson, and Mitch Foyle rounded out the scoring to pace the Hawks to a 6-1 victory over Spokane. Round got the win in net stopping 25 shots while the Hawks fired 31 at the Spokane net.
Meanwhile the Nelson Leafs tied the Columbia Valley Rockies 2-2 Friday, to bring their winning streak to an end, despite outshooting the Rockies 55-28. They now hold a one point lead over the Nitehawks in the Neil Murdoch division standings.
The Hawks have a challenging weekend as they travel to Nelson to play the Leafs on Friday at 7 p.m. and host the North Okanagan Knights on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.