Bruins, Braves post upsets of Leafs and Rebels; Hawks rout Posse
By The Nelson Daily Sports
The bubble finally broke for the Nelson Leafs.
Playing with only three healthy defencemen in the lineup for the past few games, the Leafs watched the back end explode as the Grand Forks Border Bruins scored five unanswered goals en route to a 5-2 decision over the Green and White Friday in the Boundary City.
The win was the first of the season for the Bruins over the Leafs and allows the Beaver Valley Nitehawks to creap within a point of the Neil Murdoch Division leaders.
Beaver Valley, blasting Prince Posse 7-0 Friday at the Hawks Nest, has played one less game than the Leafs.
Jackson Purvis and former Leaf Connor Gross each scored twice as the Bruins rallied from a 2-0 first period deficit to grab a 4-2 lead after 40 minutes.
Max Newton scored the other goal for Grand Forks, winners of four of five games in January.
Travis Wellman, playing his first game since before the New Year, and Brandon Sookro scored for Nelson which out shot the Bruins 47-39.
Dominic Stadnyk was the winner in goal for the Bruins while Adam Maida got the start for Nelson but was pulled after 40 minutes in favour of Brad Rebagliati.
The win was especially important for Grand Forks, improving to 14-19-2-2 in the Murdoch Division as the Bruins are locked in a fight for the final playoff spot with Spokane Braves.
The teams are currently tied with 40 points. However, Grand Forks has played three less games than their American cousins.
Spokane kept pace as Jon Manlow stopped 44 shots to power the Braves to a 2-0 upset win over Castlegar Rebels in the Lilac City.
In Fruitvale, Dallas Calvin and Hayden Chase each scored twice to lead the Hawks. Beaver Valley out shot the Posse 43-23.
The Bruins are back in action Sunday when the squad hosts Beaver Valley Nitehawks at 2 p.m. in Grand Forks.
Spokane travels to Nelson to meet the Leafs at a 2:30 p.m. puck drop.
Nelson will have team captain Darnel St. Pierre back in the lineup. The former Revelstoke Grizzly finished serving a two-game suspension for an accumulation of hit-to-the-head penalties.
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