Osoyoos Coyotes head coach and general manager Mark Chase has been relieved of his duties, the team announced on Monday. (File photo)

By Vanessa Broadbent

Osoyoos Times

When the Osoyoos Coyotes hit the ice on Saturday, they’ll be under new management.

The team announced on Twitter on Monday that head coach and general manager Mark Chase has been relieved of his duties.

Team owner and president Randy Bedard confirmed Chase’s departure, and said assistant coach Dean Maynard has been appointed interim head coach and general manager and will lead the team for the remainder of the season.

“It’s a little overwhelming,” Maynard said. “The team is focusing on strategies and systems all week. I’m just trying to gear up for this week so we have a successful game on Saturday.”

Maynard has coached minor hockey in Osoyoos and served as president of the South Okanagan Minor Hockey Association.

This season was his first on Coyotes’ coaching staff, but his connection to the team runs deep.

He competed against the team, then called the Osoyoos Heat, in the KIJHL’s finals in 1998 while playing with the Revelstoke Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies beat the Coyotes and won the championship.

Maynard went on to work as an RCMP officer, and said the skills he picked up on the police force are transferable to coaching.

“Dealing with conflict management, working with physicality and strength conditioning, that all transpires into the coaching aspect.”

The two most important qualities Maynard wants to inspire in his players are a positive attitude and effort.

“I would rather put a guy that gives 110 per cent effort on the ice, than a guy that just has a good skill set,” he said.

• Read more: Coyotes dominate Princeton Posse, break losing streak

Bedard described Maynard as a “player’s coach” and said he focuses on communication.

“It’s going to be a different coaching style,” he said. “The players have respect for him and he has respect for them.”

Currently, the Coyotes have won 13 games, lost 21, tied two, and are in third place in the Okanagan division with 29 points.

However, the team is only a few points ahead of fifth place Princeton Posse (25) and fourth place North Okanagan Knights (26). The Summerland Steam, in second place, have 44 points.

Last season, under former coach and general manager Ken Law, the Osoyoos Coyotes finished first in their division, nine points ahead of second place Kelowna Chiefs who are leading this year.

The Coyotes also finished the season third in the entire league.

Bedard said the coaching change is an attempt to solidify a playoff spot for the team.

“We’re not giving up on season,” he said. “I have the confidence in Dean that he’s going to be able to ride this out through the rest of the season and put us in a playoff position.”

Chase was hired in June after Law’s contract was not renewed in April last year, and previously spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the Melville Millionaires in Saskatchewan.

From Kamloops, he also coached and managed the Thomspon Blazers from the B.C. Major Midget League from 2013 to 2015.

The position will be up for reevaluation and open once the season ends, Bedard said, but for now he’s just hoping to see the Coyotes’ ranking rise.

“I hope we start to win some games again.”