Braves 5, Leafs 0

One day after barely defeating the worst team in the league, the Nelson Leafs were shut out by the worst team in the league, giving the Spokane Braves their second win of the season.

The Leafs let a chance to gain ground in the Neil Murdoch playoff race slip away as they fumbled the second game of a home-and-home series with the Braves, who previously had one win in 17 games prior to beating the Leafs 5-0 at home on Saturday night.

The third place Leafs slipped to 13-9 but held onto the third berth in the division by virtue of two Castlegar Rebels (6-11-2) loses on the weekend, while the teams the Leafs are chasing in the division — the first place Beaver Valley Nitehawks (16-4-2) and the second place Grand Forks Border Bruins (15-4-2) — both picked up a pair of wins.

But the lowest scoring team in the league (2.25 goals for per game), and by far the most porous defence (5.6 goals per game) had their way with the Leafs, shutting them down offensively and racking up five goals, three at even strength, one shorthanded and one empty net goal.

It wasn’t for lack of trying on the Leafs end, though, with the Heritage city squad firing 55 shots on net, and the Braves’ Tyler Picha turning them all away. The Leafs’ net minder Dylan Spackman faced 47 shots but failed to pick up the win in his fourth start this season.

The Leafs went zero for five on the power play, giving up a shorthanded goal, and were flawless in the two penalty kills they had to deal with. The Braves totalled 58 minutes in penalties, compared to the Leafs’ 12, on the merit, or lack thereof, of four game misconduct penalties (10 minutes each).