Colin Bell reaches for the puck to try to swing it into the open net as Kelowna goalie Joseph McLeod was out of position, but he was thwarted by 6’5″ defenceman Mathew Alcorn. (Richard McGuire photo)
Fans were treated to some thrilling hockey Wednesday night as the Osoyoos Coyotes defeated the Kelowna Chiefs 3-2 in overtime.
Carter Shannon scored the winning goal in the first overtime period. It was a good night for Shannon who also assisted on the Coyotes’ first goal.
The win gives the Coyotes a 2-0 lead in the series as the action moves to Kelowna for games three and four on Friday and Saturday.
This was a tense game that saw both teams evenly matched – in sharp contrast to the night before when the Coyotes scored a lopsided 6-1 win.
Several times it got rough, but didn’t escalate into any major penalties.
Kelowna opened the scoring less than five minutes into the first period on a goal by Juanre Naude.
Two minutes later, Judd Repole scored a dramatic goal for the Coyotes, with Shannon assisting.
The game remained in a 1-1 tie until late in the third period, with fans watching some exciting action as both teams played flat out, only thwarted by strong goaltending on both sides.
With just over a minute remaining in the third period, Kelowna broke the tie with a goal by Devin Sutton, making it 2-1 for Kelowna.
The Coyotes gambled and pulled goalie Daniel Paul for an extra attacker.
The gamble paid off when Kaleb Comishin scored with just 22 seconds remaining in the period. Jackson Barrett and Colin Bell assisted.
Just over five minutes into overtime, Shannon scored the winning goal, with Barrett getting another assist.
In the other Okanagan/Shuswap Conference game, Revelstoke beat 100 Mile House 5-2 to tie their series at a game each.
In the Kootenay Conference, Kimberley beat Columbia Valley 4-1 to take a 2-0 lead in their series, and Nelson beat Castlegar 4-3 in overtime to also take a two-game lead.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
Colin Bell (centre), Carter Shannon (left) and Judd Repole keep up the pressure for the Coyotes on a power play late in the second period Wednesday night. (Richard McGuire photo)
