Hunter Robinson (left) adds insult to injury by spraying Princeton goalie Chandler Billinghurst with an icy shower after putting the puck behind him. This was the first goal in a hat trick by Robinson in last Saturday’s 8-0 victory over Princeton. (Richard McGuire photo)
After narrowly suffering their first loss of the season Friday night in Kelowna, the Osoyoos Coyotes bounced back Saturday with a convincing 8-0 win over Princeton.
Saturday’s home ice win over Princeton was in some ways a replay of a match a week earlier when the Junior B hockey team won by the same score over Sicamous – the worst team in the entire Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL).
Coyotes rookie goaltender Liam Aitken earned the shutout in both games, his only two regular-season games for the Coyotes.
The difference was that Princeton was more successful than Sicamous at getting the puck out of their end and Aitken faced 27 shots by the Posse – almost twice as many as he faced from Sicamous a week earlier.
Besides Aitken, the other Coyote star Saturday night was Hunter Johnson, who earned at hat trick, scoring the final three goals of the game.
Jackson Glimpel also picked up four points with a goal and three assists.
Friday night’s 3-2 loss in Kelowna against the Chiefs was more of a struggle for the Coyotes, who have won all seven of the other games they’ve played this season.
The Coyotes outshot the Chiefs 46-20, but they just couldn’t turn those shots into goals – they also failed to connect on any of their seven power plays.
Adam Jones played goal for the Coyotes for most of the game, but was pulled in the dying minutes for an extra attacker. It was a gamble that paid off when Judd Repole scored with five seconds remaining in the game, but the Coyotes were unable to squeak out the two goals they needed to tie the score.
Kelowna scored just over five minutes into the first period. Late in the period Colin Bell tied the game with the assists going to Daniel Stone and Carter Robinson.
In the final minute of the period, Kelowna scored again to end the period with the Chiefs up 2-1.
The second period remained scoreless, but a high sticking incident involving Coyote Damian Deo helped trigger a succession of Kelowna roughing penalties, and the bad blood escalated into fights in the third period.
The Chiefs scored their third goal in the opening minute of the third period, and they held their 3-1 lead for most of the remainder of the period.
Jones was pulled from the net for more than three minutes in total as the Coyotes desperately tried to even the score with an extra attacker.
Repole’s goal, with five seconds remaining, was too little, too late and the game ended 3-2 for Kelowna. Bell and Carter Shannon got the assists.
It was an entirely different game the following night as the Coyotes faced the Princeton Posse, the bottom team in the Okanagan Division with only three wins in 10 games. Like the game a week earlier with Sicamous, it was a case of two badly matched teams.
Robinson opened the scoring for the Coyotes seven minutes into the first period with Stone and Glimpel getting the assists.
Rookie Brayden Durante added the second goal late in the period with assists going to Robinson and Glimpel.
A few minutes later, Mackenzie Wiens scored on a power play, assisted by Glimpel and Kyle Rosolowski to end the first period with the Coyotes up 3-0.
Osoyoos again dominated play in the second period.
Bell scored the fourth and fifth goals for the Coyotes. Glimpel and Robinson got the assists on Bell’s first goal early in the period. Then Repole and Stone assisted on his second goal on a power play.
With just over five minutes left in the period, Connor Onstein skated in on the goalie and passed the puck to his left at the last second, allowing Johnson to flip it into the net. The other assist went to Sam Reinbolt.
The third period started with the Coyotes up 6-0 and it stayed that way until near the end of the period when Johnson scored two more goals just 50 seconds apart.
Rosolowski and Onstein assisted on the first one and Glimpel and Onstein assisted on the second.
In standings, the Coyotes are now in second place in the Okanagan Division, two points behind Summerland. The Steam, however, have played 11 games, while Osoyoos has only played eight.
The Coyotes next face the Chase Heat in a Friday night home game before playing the North Okanagan Knights in Armstrong on Saturday.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
Mackenzie Wiens (right) scored on a power play late in the first period of Saturday night’s game to give the Coyotes a 3-0 lead over Princeton. (Richard McGuire photo)
Colin Bell tips the puck into the net to score the Coyote’s fourth goal early in the second period in their 8-0 victory Saturday night over the Princeton Posse. (Richard McGuire photo)
Princeton defenceman Rylan Douglas (No. 20) wasn’t happy when Coyote Colin Bell parked in goalie Chandler Billinghurst’s crease and tried to score. Bell wasn’t successful this time, but he did score two goals. (Richard McGuire photo)
Princeton defenceman Rylan Douglas (No. 20) wasn’t happy when Coyote Colin Bell parked in goalie Chandler Billinghurst’s crease and tried to score. Bell wasn’t successful this time, but he did score two goals. (Richard McGuire photo)
Austin Cleaver (left) had a good chance to score in the second period, but Princeton goalie Chandler Billinghurst landed on the puck and managed to thwart him. It didn’t matter — the Coyotes won last Saturday’s game 8-0. (Richard McGuire photo)
Austin Cleaver skates away triumphantly after teammate Colin Bell scored his second goal Saturday night in an 8-0 victory over Princeton. (Richard McGuire photo)
Sam Reinholt had Princeton backup goalie Bobby Milligan virtually to himself when he got a breakaway late in the second period Saturday. He didn’t manage to get a shot away as Princeton player Chad Kimmie managed to thwart him. Milligan took over in net after Chandler Billinghurst let in his sixth goal. (Richard McGuire photo)
Sam Reinholt had Princeton backup goalie Bobby Milligan virtually to himself when he got a breakaway late in the second period Saturday. He didn’t manage to get a shot away as Princeton player Chad Kimmie managed to thwart him. Milligan took over in net after Chandler Billinghurst let in his sixth goal. (Richard McGuire photo)
