Nic Bruyere (left) the Chase goalie who played such a big role in the Coyotes’ defeat is congratulated by Adam Jones, who performed excellently in net for the Coyotes this playoff season. Behind are Coyote star Ryan Roseboom and backup goalie Liam Aitken, who played in the second game against Chase. (Richard McGuire photo)
The hockey gods can often be cruel, but seldom have they ever been as devastating as they were to the Osoyoos Coyotes over 72 hours last week.
After two games in which they were literally seconds away from advancing to the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) championship series, the Coyotes brilliant 2016-17 season came to a bitter and heartbreaking end Friday night as the Chase Heat defeated the Coyotes 3-1 to win the best-of-five conference final series 3-2.
The game was played in front of the largest crowd in Coyotes’ franchise history as 693 people packed into the Sun Bowl Arena, including a loud and boisterous contingent of about 150 fans from Chase.
In a truly incredible series of events, the Coyotes were less than three seconds away from beating Chase in three straight games Tuesday night.
However, the Heat tied the game with 2.7 seconds remaining and won in overtime.
Less than 24 hours later, the Coyotes scored with 24 seconds left in regulation time and were about to celebrate a conference championship, when Chase scored with less than one second remaining on the clock and won that game early in overtime.
That set the stage for the fifth-and-deciding game Friday night at the Sun Bowl Arena.
Head coach and general manager Ken Law was too emotional to talk to the media following the devastating loss, however, Coyotes’ longtime owner Randy Bedard cordially agreed to talk about one of the toughest losses he’s ever seen in his many years in hockey.
“To lose one game with 2.7 seconds left is very tough, but to lose the next night with .3 seconds and a second chance to win the series is simply unbelievable,” said Bedard. “I’ve seen a lot of things in hockey, but I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like that in all my life.
“To literally be one second away from winning the series and moving on to the finals and then lose is just incredible.
“We knew we were still coming home with a chance to win, but I don’t know how you get over something like that. We got off to a good start tonight, but obviously we couldn’t get over it. I don’t know what to say. It’s just unbelievable.”
Bedard did give Chase credit for never quitting – they lost a close one in game one and lost in overtime in game two – and completing the comeback Friday night to move on to the KIJHL championship series against the Beaver Valley Nitehawks.
Beaver Valley defeated Kimberley Dynamiters in game five of their conference final series Friday night to advance to the championship series.
“Chase is a very good hockey club and they were the better team tonight,” he said. “They play hard and they play the right way and I have to give them credit for what they have accomplished.
“I really thought we were the better team in the first four games of the series, but they were the better team tonight.”
Ten minutes after the realization the season had ended, Bedard reiterated he still couldn’t believe his hockey club isn’t moving on to the championship final.
“You try and put what happened behind you in the playoffs, but sometimes you just can’t,” he said. “To lose two games like that in the final seconds was just too much to overcome.
“But I can’t tell you how proud I am of these guys. It would have been amazing to advance to the finals, but I guess it simply wasn’t meant to be.”
Bedard wanted to thank all of the players for pouring their heart and soul into this prolonged playoff run after playing so well over the six-month regular season.
“It’s going to be very hard to get over this loss, but I think they know they played their hearts out and that’s all anyone can ask,” he said.
Bedard thanked Law and his coaching staff, all of the team’s loyal fans and local business owners who provide such wonderful sponsorship for being part of this amazing playoff run.
“We had the largest crowd in seven years since the Coyotes returned to the KIJHL and I’m very proud of that,” he said. “We’ve won five regular season division titles in seven years and have tremendous community support. We’ll start working on year eight tomorrow.”
The Coyotes got off to a fantastic start Friday night and dominated the first period. They opened the scoring when Colton Rhodes batted in a rebound nine minutes into the game.
It turned out to be the only goal the Coyotes would score as Chase tied the game exactly two minutes later on a nice goal by Spencer Farstad, who finished off a lovely two-on-one and beat goaltender Adam Jones with a high backhand shot.
The turning point in the game came early in the second period when Chase took the lead on a goal that appeared to be offside.
Kaden Black scored on a rebound that went through Jones’ legs.
With only 10 seconds left in the second period, the Heat scored a crucial insurance marker as Zachary Fournier scored on an innocent looking play as Black fired a long wrist shot that Jones saved easily with his blocker, but the puck bounced into the slot and Fournier drilled a high backhand shot into the net and a dagger into the Coyotes’ heart.
Although the Coyotes controlled play the entire third period, they generated very few quality scoring chances and Heat goaltender Nic Bruyere was outstanding, making 42 saves over 60 minutes.
The loud contingent of Heat fans went wild as their hockey heroes saluted them after the emotional comeback series victory and posed for pictures with the Okanagan Conference championship banner.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
Colton Rhodes skates away after flipping the puck into the Chase net to score the first goal of Friday’s game, which turned out to be the Coyotes’ only goal. (Richard McGuire photo)
Kaden Black shoots the puck through Coyotes goalie Adam Jones’ legs to score the Heat’s second goal. (Richard McGuire photo)
The Coyotes tried hard in the third period to get a goal that would put them back in the game, but Chase goalie Nic Bruyere beat them every time. (Richard McGuire photo)
As the final buzzer sounds, the Chase Heat celebrate their win. (Richard McGuire photo)
The Chase Heat celebrates their win in the fifth game taking the series from the Osoyoos Coyotes. (Richard McGuire photo)
The Coyotes absorb the reality that an outstanding season is over. (Richard McGuire photo)
The Osoyoos Coyotes wave thanks and goodbye to fans before leaving the ice after their defeat in the fifth of their series against the Chase Heat. (Richard McGuire photo)
Connor Onstein comforts Coyote goalie Adam Jones after Osoyoos ended its playoff run losing to Chase 3-1. Jones played in net for all but one of the playoff games and was a major reason the Coyotes got as far as they did. (Richard McGuire photo)
Osoyoos hometown boy Evan Paolera, off with a broken shoulder, comforts Sam Reinbolt after the Coyotes were eliminated in a 3-1 fifth game. (Richard McGuire photo)
