Osoyoos Coyotes’ goaltender Brett Soles looks on as Nolan Zweep (No. 20) sweeps the puck away and defenceman Tyler Holz (No. 7) ties up a forward with the Kelowna Chiefs in KIJHL action Saturday night at the Sun Bowl Arena. The Coyotes wrapped up the overall regular season title and and will have home-ice advantage in every playoff series. The Coyotes defeated the Chiefs 4-3 and play three more games this week to wrap up the regular season. Playoffs will begin next weekend. For a full report on the Coyotes and their victory over Kelowna and Friday’s win on the road in Princeton against the Posse, check out Page 24. The Osoyoos Times will be running a full playoff preview as the Coyotes prepare for a run at the league title in next week’s edition.
DALE CORY
Team has only three games remaining this week before playoffs begin next weekend
It was the type of victory that put a big smile on the face of Osoyoos Coyotes’ head coach and general manager Ken Law.
The Coyotes were already assured of first place overall in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) entering Saturday’s game against the visiting Kelowna Chiefs at the Sun Bowl Arena in Osoyoos.
While they may not have much to play for in the final week of the regular season in terms of league standings, the Coyotes are still playing for pride, especially in front of their home fans, and they are still fine tuning what they believe will be a long march toward a league championship.
This past Saturday, the Coyotes found themselves behind the Chiefs by a goal entering the third period.
Kelowna, trailing Princeton by just two points in the battle for third place in the Okanagan Division, needed the points to avoid fourth place, and a first round playoff date with Osoyoos.
After a see-saw second period, the Coyotes entered the final frame down by a goal, as they were being held off time and time again by a disciplined and tenacious Kelowna squad.
But the Coyotes were far from done, firing 19 shots in the third period and 45 in total.
That offensive push allowed Aaron Azevedo to tie the game with a power play tally 7:49 into the third period.
At the 14-minute mark, Luc Gradisar scored what would be the eventual game winner, propelling the Coyotes to a 4-3 victory.
The solid come-from-behind victory sent the 383 fans in attendance into a frenzy and allowed Osoyoos to hit the 40-win mark, with only three games remaining in the 52-game regular season schedule.
“It’s one of those things. We don’t have much to play for,” admitted Law. “We just had to mention to the guys that we had got away from our game plan in-between periods.
“We needed to finish our checks. Once we mentioned that, we got back on our game plan. In third period, our forecheck caused them to turn pucks over and gave us offensive chances.”
Colten Braid and Colin Bell scored second period goals.
Ryan Roseboom enjoyed a three-assist night, while Nolan Zweep had a pair of helpers.
“Our third line, which could be a first line anywhere else in this league, came through with three goals,” added Law. “We knew Kelowna had a strong team. We wanted to play them straight up and give other guys a chance to do their jobs.”
Brett Soles turned aside 28 shots for the victory between the pipes.
“We haven’t had to say a lot,” stressed Law with regard to his team’s sizeable lead in the standings and push to increase that lead. “Our team leaders are stepping up and we are mainly focusing on the fact that it may not mean much now, but we need to focus on any bad habits and get out of that. We made some adjustments with lines and the guys noticed. They needed that wake-up call and we received a better work ethic out of them.”
The Saturday victory allowed the Coyotes to turn in another perfect weekend as they travelled to Princeton Friday and scored three times in the third period on their way to a 6-3 victory over the Posse.
Troy Maclise and Blake Holowaty each scored twice.
Maclise and Azevedo, who scored once and added three assists, enjoyed four-point nights, while Holowaty finished with three points.
Gradisar also tallied, and Soles blocked 27 shots for the win in net.
Osoyoos is now 40-6-2-0-1, good for 83 points, a dozen better than the league’s two closest teams, Fernie and Beaver Valley, both of which have 71 points.
Osoyoos has just three games remaining on the regular season schedule.
The Coyotes hosted Princeton Wednesday at 7:35 p.m. at Sun Bowl Arena, before visiting Summerland Friday.
The Coyotes will be home to North Okanagan, the league’s worst team, Saturday at 7:35 p.m. to close out the regular season.
Law says there are some areas he wants to see improved prior to the start of playoffs.
“Just consistency,” he said. “We don’t feel we have played a 60-minute game for probably a month. We’ve had things clinched for the last month and maybe lost a bit of focus. Also, teams are playing us differently as well,” said Law. “The biggest thing moving forward is to focus on committing to getting the job done and our focus on defence and keeping pucks out of our zone.”
The Coyotes are booked to host their first playoff game on Friday, Feb. 20 at the Sun Bowl Arena.
The Coyotes have made the league semi-finals the past two years and will be the heavy favourites to win the league championship over the next several weeks.
The Osoyoos Times will be running a full playoff preview article in next week’s edition.
DALE CORY
Special to the Times
