Carter Shannon, second from left, celebrates a goal on Friday night. He also got a hat trick on Monday and a goal Saturday, totalling five goals in three games. (Richard McGuire photo)

The Osoyoos Coyotes were one win away from eliminating the Posse after defeating them 5-2 in Princeton Monday night.

A fourth and possibly deciding game was scheduled for Tuesday night, also in Princeton, after the Osoyoos Times goes to press.

The win followed two home-ice victories Friday and Saturday nights of 7-3 and 2-1 respectively.

A report on the fourth game will be available Tuesday night at OsoyoosTimes.com.

On Monday night, like Saturday’s game, Princeton took more penalties as the Posse threw their weight around at the Coyotes – a team characterized more by speed and skill than size and intimidation.

Especially in the first two games, Princeton’s propensity toward penalties hurt them as the Coyotes scored on half their power plays Friday night, and both their goals Saturday night were scored on power plays.

The Coyote power play was less effective Monday when they only scored on one of 13 power plays, though Osoyoos also scored on a penalty shot.

Carter Shannon earned a hat trick Monday, including his penalty shot, and he also picked up an assist. With a goal in each of the other two games, Shannon has now scored five goals in three games.

Shannon scored two goals to bookend the first period, with one just 27 seconds into the game and the other 38 seconds from the period’s end.

Princeton’s Chad Kimmie scored the only goal of the second period on a power play.

Besides Shannon’s penalty shot, the other two Coyote goals of the third period were scored by Cody Allen on a power play and by Nick Nordstrom, a shorthanded goal on the empty net.

Judd Repole earned three points, assisting on goals by Shannon, Allen and Nordstrom.

Saturday’s game at the Sun Bowl could have been much worse for Princeton if not for strong goaltending by Bobby Milligan, who faced 40 Coyote shots, but only allowed two goals.

At the other end of the rink, Daniel Paul of the Coyotes only faced 27 shots, but he too was a star in the net.

The Coyotes opened the scoring late in the first period when Shannon scored his second goal of the playoffs, assisted by Colin Bell and Jackson Barrett.

Just past the halfway mark in the second period, the Coyotes had the Posse hemmed in on a power play after Dawson Wolff took boarding and roughing penalties.

The Coyotes passed the puck around in the Posse’s end, looking for just the right opening. That came when Carter Robinson fired a slapshot past Milligan, making it 2-0.

Princeton’s Morton Johnston ruined Paul’s chance of a shutout late in the third period, but the Posse failed to make a comeback.

They pulled Milligan for an extra attacker in the final minutes, but neither team scored, and the game ended at 2-1 for Osoyoos.

On Friday night, the Coyotes demonstrated they were the stronger team, commanding the ice, despite some shaky moments in the opening period,

Princeton opened the scoring on a goal by Lane French, his first of two.

Four minutes later, Bell scored an unassisted goal to tie the game.

A few minutes later, Repole slipped the puck in from behind Milligan to make it 2-1.

A couple minutes later, Austin Cleaver scored from close range on a power play, putting the Coyotes ahead 3-1.

But in the final minute of the first period, it looked like the Coyotes had mentally returned to the dressing room before the period was over. Princeton scored two quick goals less than 30 seconds apart to end the period in a 3-3 tie.

In the second period, the Coyotes gained control.

They had several scoring opportunities earlier in the second period – including a breakaway by Sam Reinbolt that was only thwarted when Dawson Jenner fell to the ice and tripped him.

Reinbolt got revenge, scoring a few minutes later.

Then, two minutes later, Shannon scored on a power play to make it 5-3.

Brandon Onstein received a pass just outside the Princeton zone a couple minutes later and skated in unopposed to fire the puck past Milligan.

The final goal by Connor Onstein came on a power play later in the third period.

If the Coyotes pull off a fourth win, they’ll face the winner of the Kelowna-Summerland series in the Okanagan Division final.

After a 2-1 overtime win Monday night, Kelowna now leads that series two games to one.

Several other series in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League are also close to conclusion with leading teams winning all three games.

These include Revelstoke over Kamloops, 100 Mile House over Chase, Kimberley over Fernie, and Nelson over Grand Forks.

Two series are closer with Columbia Valley leading Creston and Castlegar over Beaver Valley, both ahead two games to one.

All 16 teams play games Tuesday night.

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times