The Osoyoos Coyotes pulled off a howling start to their home game season at Sun Bowl Arena on Saturday evening, handily throwing the Summerland Steam off the rails with a 7-3 victory, much to the delight of over 230 fans in attendance.
The tempo and direction of the game were set from the get-go with a goal by Osoyoos’ Jack Henderson (assisted by Nathan Hannon) at the 1:06 mark. Two more goals at 11:04 by Kole Giesbrecht (Brydon Foster and Charlie Lockhart) and 11:51 by Jack Henderson (Ethan McKinley and Charlie Lockhart) and the writing was appearing on the wall.
The action didn’t leave the Summerland zone to any great extent in the first period with the Coyotes’ forechecking a relentless force ensuring the Steam were always on the back foot in their own zone. This didn’t give Coyotes goalie Kenneth Marquart a whole lot of work, but the work he did encounter showed he was reasonably up for the task.
A goal by Summerland’s Haiden Parks (Jack Lynes and Grayson Chell) teased the potential of a first period comeback for the Steam at the 13:04 mark, but this was quickly quelled by the Coyotes’ Paton McDonald-Corea (Ryan Bester) who upped the ante just over a minute later at 14:20.
Levi Lamotte (Ethan McKinley) sealed the deal for the Coyotes in the first period at 17:21, with the two teams heading to the dressing room at 5-1 in Osoyoos’ favour.
The Summerland Steamers were in a seemingly constant scramble in their own zone. Don Urquhart photo.
Despite the impressive goal tally in the first period, words were surely had in the Coyotes’ dressing room following the racking up a string of minor penalties in the period. Paton McDonald-Corea was on the hook for cross-checking (2:39), Ethan O’Rourke for hooking (7:34), Charlie Lockhart for tripping (17:16) and Levi Lamotte topped it off unsportsmanlike conduct (18:55).
The second period saw a slightly sharper focus exhibited by the Steam with a far more even back and forth between ends that was only punctuated 7:40 minutes into the period with a goal by the Coyotes’ Brydon Foster (Kole Giesbrecht) making it 6-1 for the home team.
To the Steam’s credit, something must have stirred within them as they managed to get it together and pull off two goals a minute apart with Matt Mansfield (Parker Konneke and Nate McIsaac) beating Coyote goaltender Marquart at 10:15 followed by Jackson MacDonald (Grayson Chell) at 11:16.
Second period penalties included a second tripping penalty for Osoyoos’ Charlie Lockhart at 2:45. And while Osoyoos had been lucky so far with its penalties coming without major cost, Kole Giesbrecht’s cross-checking at 9:58 opened the door for Mansfield’s powerplay goal at 10:15.
With frustration surely intensifying on the Summerland bench, the team inevitably racked up two penalties in the period – Brody Elychyson for roughing at 12:20, and Jacob Obuck who was given a 10-minute misconduct at 12:20.
At the end of the second, Osoyoos had the game well in hand with a three-goal lead.
The third period saw much of the same dominance by Osoyoos with fitful surges by Summerland that it couldn’t sustain and convert to any further goals. The Coyotes added one goal at 11:08 for good measure, by Ethan Floris (Jack Henderson and Nathan Hannon).
The penalty roll continued with each team taking two apiece. Coyotes’ Paton McDonald-Corea added a second to his record with a roughing penalty only 36 seconds into the period, followed by his teammate Noah Eisenhut at 7:30 for charging.
The Steam’s Jacob Obuck racked up his second of the game for slashing this time at 17:37 and Jack Lynes for roughing at 19:12.
Decent puck handling and reasonably solid passing plays combined with hardworking puck chasing and rigorous forechecking clearly laid the foundation for the solid win which saw shots on goal for the Coyotes nearly doubling that of Summerland at 42 versus 22.
At least a couple of goals came courtesy of exacting wrist shots which also sweetened the deal for fans – after all, who doesn’t appreciate a nice wrist shot goal?
No doubt the apparent roughness here and there in the machinery will work itself out over the course of the season, promising some great hockey action for local fans. One thing that does clearly need to be addressed is the seeming love for the penalty box.
That surely must rank at or very near to the top of the list of things for head coach Carter Rigby and his team to fix if the Coyotes are to go far this season.
In the five-team Bill Ohlhausen Division, the Osoyoos Coyotes are currently in second place with three points behind the Kelowna Chiefs at four points.
The Coyotes will face Kelowna on Friday, Oct. 8 at Sun Bowl Arena at 7:35 p.m. Proof of double vaccination and face masks are required.
