Princeton goalie Stephen Heslop fared a little better in Friday night’s game than he did in this game on Dec. 4 when he allowed seven goals. He served in net the entire game Friday and only allowed four goals while the Coyotes took 47 shots. Pictured here, Austin Cleaver scored for the Osoyoos Coyotes on a power play in the early December game. (Richard McGuire file photo)
The Osoyoos Coyotes played the two worst teams in their division on the weekend, easily beating the last-place Princeton Posse 4-1, but suffering a humiliating 5-2 home-ice loss to the North Okanagan Knights.
In Friday night’s game in Princeton, the Posse scored the game’s first goal early in the first period.
Just 18 seconds later, however, Osoyoos tied the game and never looked back as Cody Allen scored his first of two goals in the game. The assists went to Bobby LaRue and Levi Morin.
The remaining goals were all scored by the Coyotes over the space of less than two minutes early in the second period.
Allen picked up his second goal eight seconds into a power play and less than three minutes into the period, again assisted by Morin as well as Coyotes’ top scorer Rainer Glimpel.
Just over a minute later, Hunter Johnson scored assisted by Reid Wilson and Evan Loura.
Thirty-three seconds later, the Coyotes scored again, with Morin getting the goal and Carter Robinson and Jackson Glimpel, Rainer’s younger brother, getting assists.
Neither team scored in the third period, leaving the Coyotes with a 4-1 victory.
The shots on goal show how lopsided the game was – Osoyoos outshot Princeton 47-23.
Princeton goalie Stephen Heslop survived the entire game in the net, unlike the last time the two teams squared off and Heslop was pulled after allowing seven goals.
Back at the Sun Bowl on Saturday night, the Coyotes lost their second game in eight days, despite an otherwise exceptionally good season.
Adding to the embarrassment, however, was that the loss was to the North Okanagan Knights, the second worst team in the division, who the Coyotes beat 6-1 the last time the two teams met at the Sun Bowl in early November.
The Coyotes opened the scoring midway through the first period on a goal by Wilson, assisted by Austin Cleaver and Steele Anderson.
The Knights, however, took three goals in the second period to lead the game 3-1 late in the period.
Then, with less than three minutes remaining in the second period, Rainer Glimpel scored, assisted by Morin and LaRue to end the period 3-2 for North Okanagan.
The Coyotes stayed within reach as neither team scored throughout most of the third period, but with just two minutes remaining, the Knights scored on a power play to give them a 4-2 lead.
With just over a minute remaining, the Coyotes took a chance and pulled goalie Adam Jones for an extra attacker. The gamble backfired, however, when North Okanagan scored on the empty Coyote net to end the game 5-2.
With the weekend’s win and loss, the Coyotes remain in the lead of the Okanagan Division with 47 points, but the Summerland Steam is just four points behind in second place.
Osoyoos and Summerland go head to head in two games next week, the last remaining games for the Coyotes in 2015.
They play in Summerland on Tuesday, Dec. 29. The following night, the two teams face off at the Sun Bowl.
Osoyoos must win at least one of those two games to hold onto their lead in the division.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
