The Beaver Valley Nitehawks’ bid to wrap up first place in the Neil Murdoch Division was delayed once again as the Nelson Leafs scored a 2-1 victory in Fruitvale Tuesday night.
Although the final playoff pairings have yet to be set, Nelson sent an early warning that even though they are currently in fourth place in the division, they can win close scoring contests.
All the scoring was done in the first 40 minutes as Sam Swanson put Beaver Valley up 1-0 only to see Blair Andrews tie it for Nelson with three minutes left in the first period.
Andrews struck again in the second period and then it was up to Leafs goaltender Patrick Ostermann to preserve the lead.
Beaver Valley outshot Nelson 24-16 over the final 40 minutes but Ostermann couldn’t be beat.
The win moved Nelson to within four points of third-place Grand Forks. Each team has six games left and meet on the final day of the regular season.
Meanwhile, Beaver Valley has five games left on its scheduled.
They’ll knock off three in a row this weekend with an Okanagan swing through Osoyoos, Princeton and Summerland.
The team returns home for its final two games against Fernie, on Feb. 19, and Castlegar, on Feb. 20.