It was a tough weekend for the Fernie Ghostriders, suffering wide-margin losses to the Beaver Valley Nitehawks and the Nelson Leafs.
The Nitehawks took an early lead on Friday in Fruitvale, going up 2-0 in the first and maintaining that lead throughout the second period.
Malachai Peigan would put the Ghostriders on the board a minute into the third, but the Nitehawks came surging back with two more goals, including a shorthanded goal from Jake Geronazzo, and claiming a 4-1 win.
It was Fernie who took the initial lead in Saturday’s away game with the Leafs, with a goal from Kyler Watson, his twelfth of the season.
That would prove to be the lone goal of the night for the Ghostriders, and once the Leafs got started, they did not stop, scoring nine unanswered goals and take a 9-1 win.
Despite these losses, the Ghostriders still lead the Eddie Mountain Division with 56 points, although two wins from the Kimberley Dynamiters have made things tight at the top as the playoffs rapidly approach. The Dynamiters are just two points behind them, with the Columbia Valley Rockies sitting in third with 49 points.
The Ghostriders will look to turn things around heading into the final four games of the regular season. They have one more game on the road against Creston on Friday, Feb. 9, before returning home to take on the Grand Forks Border Bruins on Saturday, Feb. 10.
Their final two games of the season will be against their rivals the Kimberley Dynamiters on Feb. 16 in Kimberley and in Fernie on Feb. 17.