It’s way too early to start planning a parade route, but this is looking like it could be another season to remember for the Osoyoos Coyotes.
Because so many things can change in the course of a full hockey season, including injuries to key players and complacency that often sets in with winning hockey clubs, it would be foolish to state the Coyotes are heading towards a championship season.
However, there’s no doubt they are one of the best clubs in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) this season and are likely to only get better considering there are so many new faces in the lineup.
After a pair of impressive victories on home ice this past weekend, the Coyotes now sport a league-leading record of 12-2.
With the exception of a horrible outing on home ice 10 days ago against Golden, where they were whipped 9-4 to end a seven-game winning streak, the Coyotes have come to play hard every single night so far this season.
As all local diehard fans know, the Coyotes captured the KIJHL championship two years ago during their first season in the league.
After a very successful regular season last year, where the team captured the Okanagan-Shuswap Division regular season title, the Coyotes fell flat in their opening-round series against Kelowna and were ousted in the first round, which shocked many of their loyal fans.
After losing more than a dozen players from last year’s squad, head coach and general manager Ken Law and his coaching staff have done a remarkable job recruiting new players for this year’s squad.
So far this season, the Coyotes have shown they can play any style of game their opponents want to play and still come out on top.
They have won several high-scoring contests and also excelled in low-scoring defensive battles like the 2-0 victory last Friday night on home ice against the Penticton Lakers – a game that was scoreless after 40 minutes of play.
Law has been in the game for many years and admits this year’s club “is a special group of kids” who not only play hard on the ice, but have formed an incredible bond off the ice and have come together as friends and teammates.
With the National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players Association engaged in another battle of greed over who is going to share billions of dollars, the players with the Coyotes continue to provide an exciting and fast-paced brand of hockey for only a fraction of the price.
The Coyotes continue to attract between 300 and 400 fans every home game, but those numbers are sure to increase as the season progresses if the NHL lockout remains in place and the Coyotes continue to win.
There’s a long road ahead on the way to a possible championship, but there’s little doubt this year’s version of the Coyotes have the talent, chemistry and hard work necessary to remain a contender for the 2012-13 league title.
It should be a fun ride the rest of the way.
If you’re a hockey fan and haven’t checked out this year’s club, you should. You’re missing some great junior hockey, the price is right for all members of the family and the home team seldom loses.