A 1-1 tie game Saturday night between the Osoyoos Coyotes and the Princeton Posse has left the rival teams also tied in their battle to capture third place in the Okanagan Division of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League.
The two teams each have 18 points and have played 21 games.
The game in Princeton was the Coyotes’ only match this weekend and is the only game they’ve played since squeaking out an overtime win over Sicamous a week earlier.
Princeton meanwhile lost in overtime last Monday to the last-place North Okanagan Knights and then lost again Friday to the Kimberley Dynamiters.
Although the end of the season is still months away, a third-place finish is significant as it would probably mean facing the Summerland Steam in the first playoff round instead of the virtually unstoppable Kelowna Chiefs.
Princeton opened the scoring Saturday just over two minutes into the game.
Brandon Della Paolera scored the only Coyote goal close to the middle of the second period. Rhys Lepine and Peter Michailides assisted.
The teams played two five-minute overtime periods, but with neither team scoring, the game ended in a 1-1 draw giving both teams a single point.
The two goalies – Daniel Paul for Osoyoos and Jaysen MacLean for Princeton – were picked as game stars, with Paul facing 43 shots and MacLean facing 37.
The Coyotes have just one remaining home-ice game this month when they host the North Okanagan Knights this Wednesday, Nov. 21. The outcome of that game wasn’t known when the Osoyoos Times went to press.
The remaining two November games are both on the road against more challenging teams as the Coyotes face the Chiefs in Kelowna on Tuesday, Nov. 27 and the Wranglers in 100 Mile House on Friday, Nov. 30.
Princeton’s remaining games in November are all on home ice as they face the Kamloops Storm, a double-header against the 100 Mile House Wranglers and then the Golden Rockets.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
