Jonathan Lee (No. 6) of the Kelowna Chiefs was awarded a penalty shot in the second period of a recent game against the Osoyoos Coyotes, but goalie Brett Soles managed to stop him. The Coyotes are the hottest team in the KIJHL at the moment as they have won five consecutive games. They will try and extend the current winning streak this weekend on home ice when they host Princeton Friday night and North Okanagan Knights Sunday evening at the Sun Bowl Arena. (Richard McGuire file photo)
It was a month to remember for the Osoyoos Coyotes as they wrapped up a busy November with a pair of victories to continue their climb towards the top of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) standings.
The Coyotes managed a pair of hard-fought victories this past weekend to extend their latest winning streak to five games.
The Coyotes had put together a seven-game winning streak in early November that was snapped with a poor performance in Kelowna.
However, they have rebounded impressively by putting together another solid streak and this means they have won 12 of their past 13 games.
The Coyotes currently sit in first place in the Okanagan Division of the KIJHl with an impressive record of 19-5-1, good enough for 39 points and a comfortable seven-point lead over the Summerland Steam.
The Coyotes travelled to Armstrong this past Friday evening to battle the North Okanagan Knights.
Despite outshooting the hometown Knights 27-11 during the first two periods of play, the game remained scoreless.
Rookie Hunter Johnson scored what would be the game’s only goal eight minutes into the third period, with the sole assist going to Daniel Stone.
Rookie Adam Jones got a rare start in net and was terrific as he stopped all 21 shots fired on net to pick up the shutout victory.
Back home at the Sun Bowl Arena Saturday evening, the Coyotes scored with less than seven minutes left in the game to break open a 2-2 tie and then added a pair of empty net goals on their way to a 5-2 victory over the Steam.
Bobby LaRue scored the only goal of the first period, with assists going to captain Rainer Glimpel and Braeden Tuck.
Rainer Glimpel extended the lead to 2-0 early in the second period with a power play goal. Glimpel remains the second-leading scorer in the KIJHL.
Summerland scored their own power play goal with just over one minute left in the second period to narrow the margin to 2-1 and tied the game with only eight seconds remaining in the second period.
Colton Rhodes scored the eventual game winner, with an assist from Judd Repole.
Colin Bell and Reid Wilson added empty net goals to complete the scoring and extend the winning streak for the Coyotes.
The Coyotes will have the opportunity to extend their winning streak this weekend as they play home games against two struggling teams that are well below them in the standings.
They host the Princeton Posse on Friday evening at the Sun Bowl Arena, before playing host to the Knights Sunday evening.
The puck drops at 7:35 p.m. for both games.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
