The Beaver Valley Nitehawks climbed to the top of the Neil Murdoch Division with wins over Nelson and Spokane last week but the thin air up there may have caused the team to sputter on the weekend.
The Nitehawks lost 5-3 to Creston Valley on Friday before dropping a close 6-5 match to the Castlegar Rebels Saturday.
“We didn’t play well, and the teams handed it to us pretty good,” said head coach and manager Terry Jones.
Beaver Valley lacked scoring punch as Creston would score four goals in the third period to go up 5-1, in a game they dominated physically, before Chris Derochie and Mason Spear narrowed the lead to two.
The Nitehawks were without the services of top scorers Craig Cunningham and Ryan Edwards as they were called up for games with the Trail Smoke Eaters and Vernon Vipers respectively.
“We’re missing some guys sure but at the same time you hope other guys step up and the thing that concerns me was how the rest of the guys didn’t step up,” said Jones.
The two are affiliate players (AP) for the Smokies and Vipers and are eligible to play up to 10 games for the teams. Forward Derochie will play for Vernon on Tuesday when they take on Westside.
In Castlegar Sunday the Nitehawks would battle back from a 4-1 deficit with a pair of goals each from Derochie and Calvin, his second on a penalty shot with 1:42 to play, but it would prove too little too late as the Rebels held on for the 6-5 victory.