By Richard McGuire
The Osoyoos Coyotes have almost always been a strong team in the regular season, but except for one year, 2010-11, victory in the playoffs has eluded them.
This year they hope it will be different.
Again, this year the Coyotes had an exceptional regular season, finishing first in the Okanagan Division of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) and placing second in the entire league.
But their challenge will be to avoid what happened last year when their talented team had an amazing regular season, but they were eliminated in six games by Summerland in the second playoff round.
Last year they swept the North Okanagan Knights in four straight games. This year they again face the Knights in the best of seven opening round.
Unless Kelowna scores an upset win in their opening series against the Summerland Steam, there’s a good chance that Osoyoos once again will face Summerland in the division finals.
The first two rounds of the playoffs at the division level are best-of-seven-game series. The conference final and league final series are best of five.
Coyotes Head Coach Ken Law rejects the suggestion that the Coyotes last year had a strong regular season, but fizzled in the playoffs.
“It was no fizzle,” he said. “We ran into the second-best team and their goaltender stole the show. That happens at any level. Any team can beat any team. It’s just a matter of who comes out and who has their game going for them at the time.”
This year, said Law, the Coyotes have excellent goaltenders in Adam Jones and Liam Aitken.
“Right now, we feel we’ve got two of the best goaltenders in the league,” said Law. “It’s going to be tough to beat us in a seven-game series. If one goaltender is injured, or maybe struggles, the other one steps in and will be just as good.”
Between the two, Aitken has seven shutouts in 17 games played and Jones has four in 32 games.
“Usually a key to make or break in the playoffs is your goaltending,” agrees Randy Bedard, owner of the Coyotes.
Bedard acknowledges the team faces a challenge to carry its regular season success into the playoffs.
“We’ve been a regular season team that’s been very, very good since day one,” he said. “We’ve won five regular season titles in the Okanagan Division in seven years, but we only have one championship. You don’t want to be classified as a good regular-season team and a playoff team that stumbles every year.”
Only in 2010-11 did the Coyotes win their conference final series, going on to win the league championship.
In 2014 and 2015, the Coyotes were eliminated in the conference final by the Kamloops Storm.
Daniel Stone is going into his third playoffs, this time as team captain. This year’s team is comparable with those of the two previous years, he says.
“They have quite similar skills,” said Stone. “I feel we’re a lot younger this year than we were in my first year, but skill wise, I think we’re pretty equal.”
This year’s Coyotes started off as a young team, but throughout the season Law has bolstered the team with several returning Coyote veterans.
These include Ryan Roseboom, Colton Rhodes, Cody Allen and Reid Wilson.
The most recent is Tyler Holz, who last played for the Coyotes in 2014-15, and has since played at the Junior A level. Holz has been off this season with an injury, but played with the Coyotes for their final two regular season games.
Bedard also points to the “key acquisition” of Austin Steger from Nelson midway through the season.
“I look at the turnover all season long and it’s been about nine or 10 players, which I think is a little high for a winning hockey club,” said Bedard. “But I don’t micromanage. Ken (Law) has proven himself and is great at recruiting and always puts a winning team on the ice, so I let him do his job.”
Law points to other veterans such as Colin Bell and Judd Repole, who led the team in points this season, as well as defenceman Stone, who, along with the new acquisitions, give the team depth.
The first line, with Roseboom, Bell and Repole, is one of the top lines in the KIJHL, Law said.
He also pointed to some hard-working players who don’t always get the recognition they deserve. Jackson Glimpel and Carter Robinson are two that came to mind.
“Everybody has been doing a good job in their role,” said Law. “The biggest thing is making sure the guys understand that if they’re not going to be a goal scorer, there’s lots of other roles for them.”
Both Law and Stone point to the importance of the returning veterans who have playoff experience. Law says they’ve made a big difference to the team.
“They’re huge,” he said. “The guys watch and follow them and they want to make sure they emulate everything they do. They’re a calming factor in the room for all the young guys, the rookies, who will be going into their first playoff series.”
Stone said the third-year veterans not only bring experience, leadership and skills, but they also bring a good mindset.
“Mind wise, they’re a lot smarter on the ice,” he said. “Myself included.”
Law said that as a coach he works to make sure his players are mentally prepared going into the playoffs and that will be the focus this week in the lead-up to Friday’s opening game at the Sun Bowl Arena.
He’ll be sharing video of the opposing team to show their tendencies, how they run their power plays, how they kill penalties and who their key players are.
Stone, as captain, tries to keep up his team’s morale. He sees playoff hockey as different from the regular season.
“It’s a lot faster, it’s a higher tempo, it’s a lot more physical,” said Stone. “Guys on both sides of the ice are a lot more hungry for the win, so overall, in my opinion, it’s better hockey than the regular season.”
Bedard agrees.
“It’s just a lot of hockey in a short period of time,” he said. “It’s very demanding on everyone – the organization, the players, your volunteers and your fans… It’s basically a battle of attrition – whoever can survive and stay healthy. It’s an exciting time. You just have to enjoy it.”
