The Osoyoos Coyotes celebrate after Ryan Morrell scored his second goal in Saturday night’s 7-2 victory over Kamloops. This was the sixth for the Coyotes late in the second period. The regular season wrapped up Sunday night with a 2-1 victory over Kelowna. The Coyotes started their first playoff series Tuesday against the North Okanagan Knights. (Richard McGuire photo)
There will be no excuses for the Osoyoos Coyotes if they don’t qualify for the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) championship series.
The Osoyoos Coyotes are smoking hot as they begin what they are confident will be a two-month march towards their second league championship since the franchise was formed six years ago.
The Coyotes start the playoffs on a 12-game winning streak to end the regular season.
“We’re healthy and have everyone ready to go,” said head coach and general manager Ken Law, who has led the Coyotes to three-consecutive Okanagan Division championships.
The Coyotes kicked off the playoffs Tuesday night at home against the North Okanagan Knights. Game two is played Wednesday night at the Sun Bowl Arena.
Games three and four will be played in Armstrong on Friday and Saturday night. If a fifth game is needed, it would be played Monday night at the Sun Bowl Arena.
The Coyotes are the prohibitive favourites as they finished more than 40 points ahead of the Knights during the regular season.
The Coyotes are the top seed in the Okanagan-Shuswap Conference. They set an all-time KIJHL record for least amount of goals allowed as they gave up only 93 in 52 games. The old record was 103 goals in 50 games.
When the Coyotes captured the KIJHL championship in their inaugural 2010-11 season, they allowed 113 goals in 52 games.
Law said this year’s team is the most balanced squad he’s had since he was hired as coach and GM before the 2010-11 season. That team lost only two games in regulation – and another four in overtime- during a 50-game regular season.
“I think we have more talent spread throughout the lineup with this club,” said Law. “We had an unbelievable goaltender named Kyle Laslo and he was a warrior and just a huge part of our success. We would have been in trouble without him as he led us to the championship.
“This year we have talent and depth across our entire lineup and we have two No. 1 goaltenders who are the two best in the entire league, so I think we’ve got everything we need to get to where we want to go.”
After a mediocre start during the first 10 games this season, the Coyotes have only lost a handful of games since and have enjoyed several long winning streaks, including their longest of the campaign to end the regular season this past weekend.
The Coyotes only lost two games in a row on one occasion all season and this bodes well for the playoffs, said Law.
“We know we’re going to be very hard to beat in best four of seven series,” he said. “You’re going to face some tough times during any playoff run, but we’ve been a very consistent team all season and we’ll be very tough to beat in a playoff series.’
The motto “defence wins” pertains to most sports at a high level and Law said every player on his team should be proud of setting a new league record for allowing the least amount of goals in a season.
“We’re very strong on the defensive side, but you can’t forget about our offence because I think we have the best transition game in the league,” he said. “If you make a mistake and turn the puck over, we have a great group of forwards who can execute and put the puck in the net at the other end.
“We’re very committed to team defence, but we’ve shown we have a very well balanced team up front and we have a bunch of guys who can put the puck in the net.”
This is a very close-knit group of players and Law says they are determined to take a step further this season and reach the league final.
Over the last two seasons, the Coyotes have won two rounds to win their division, but have fallen to the Kamloops Storm in the league semi-finals.
“We’re confident we can take that step,” said Law. “Last year, we blew Kamloops off the ice in the first game, but lost a tough one in overtime in game two and that really affected our confidence and we never recovered.
“This team is more resilient and I don’t think we’re going to panic if things get tough and we suffer a tough loss.”
Captain Rainer Glimpel, who wrapped up the league scoring title over the weekend, agrees that nothing less than a trip to the league finals will suffice during this playoff run.
“We’ve had such a great year, but a lot of the guys have only been talking about the playoffs because that’s what really counts,” he said. “We’re more than ready to get going and we’re all confident we have the team to get back to the finals.”
This is a team filled with character players who care for each other on and off the ice, said Glimpel.
“We’ve had really tight teams all three years I’ve been here, but we have more character guys on this team than we have in the past,” he said. “I think we have a fantastic mix of older guys who have been through the playoff wars before and a lot of younger guys who want to prove they have what it takes to make a difference.
“Everybody on this team gets along and we have a special bond because we work so hard on the ice, but also do everything together off the ice from sharing meals, to doing community work and just hanging out together.”
It will be his job as captain to point out, especially to the rookies, that playoff hockey takes a lot more effort and determination than regular season hockey, said Glimpel.
“It’s a lot different and they’re going to see that on the first shift of the first game,” he said. “It’s a lot more intense, there’s a lot less time to make plays and the physical play ramps up big time.
“You have to be more determined and you have to be willing to make sacrifices for the team. You can’t be selfish and have to remain disciplined and not take foolish penalties. We have enough veteran guys on this team to lead the way and I’m sure the young guys will follow.”
Glimpel is also confident the Coyotes can take the extra step they’ve failed to take over the past two seasons and win their conference to advance to the KIJHL championship series.
“There’s going to be some bumps along the way, but I know what kind of team we have and we’re going to be very tough to beat in a best-of-seven series,” he said. “We have the best defence in the league, the two best goaltenders and a bunch of guys who can score, so I really like our chances.”
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
Coyote Hunter Johnson got a beautiful breakaway early in the second period of Saturday’s game, but Kamloops goalie Tavin Grant managed to stop him. In the last two years, Kamloops has killed Coyotes’ dreams of a championship, but this year the Coyotes appear to have a far superior team. (Richard McGuire photo)
