Keith Lacey, editor, Osoyoos Times
Ask anyone who has ever played hockey at an elite level and they will have a hard time finding the words to describe the difference between the regular season and playoffs.
It is, without exaggeration, like night and day.
Lose four times in a week and seven months of hard work can go down the drain in a hurry.
With the Osoyoos Coyotes wrapping up another fantastic regular season this past weekend, the longtime Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) powerhouse franchise will once again roll into the playoffs as one of the favourites to win a league championship.
But this is nothing new for the Coyotes.
As all longtime Coyotes fans know, regular season success hasn’t exactly translated into playoff success, especially the past two seasons.
After a regular season in which they lost only nine times in 52 games last year, the Coyotes easily dispatched of the Okanagan Knights in the first round before coming up against a tough and talented Summerland Steam squad.
Pardon the pun, but the Steam steamrolled the Coyotes and knocked them out of the playoffs in impressive fashion and a veteran team that looked like it was championship material for months was left wondering what could have been.
This 2016-17 regular season has been another tremendous success with the Coyotes getting another win and tie this past weekend to finish the campaign with a record of 37-8-1-1, good enough for 76 points in 47 games.
Only the perennial powerhouse Beaver Valley Nighthawks, who lost only four times in 47 games, have a better record.
Heading into their best-of-seven opening-round playoff series against the North Okanagan Knights, the Coyotes will once again be the prohibitive favourites to win that series.
Summerland will also be a prohibitive favourite to knock off the Kelowna Chiefs in their best-of-seven opening round series.
If the Coyotes and Steam come out on top, as expected, it sets up a second-round series that should be nothing short of incredible.
The Steam has played the Coyotes tough all season and proved last year that they will not be intimidated by the regular season success enjoyed by the Coyotes.
After two seasons of coming up short in the second round of the playoffs, it’s time for this version of the Coyotes to play their best hockey when it matters most.
It’s not going to be easy – it never is in the playoffs – but the Coyotes have a talented, fast, skilled team that features outstanding forwards, great defencemen and arguably the best goaltending tandem in the league in Adam Jones and Liam Aitken.
Their top forwards are all veterans and have been through playoff battles before and surely have learned you have to take your game to a different level to achieve success in the post season.
Veterans like captain Daniel Stone, Colin Bell, Judd Repole, Ryan Roseboom, and Jackson Glimpel must provide the leadership needed to bring this team to where it wants to go.
If the Coyotes manage to get past the Knights and Steam, they would be heavy favourites to win any series against the winners of the Doug Birks Division, be it Chase Heat, 100 Mile House Wranglers or Kamloops Storm.
A victory in that series would advance them to the championship series against the winner of the Kootenay Conference, where Beaver Valley will be the likely opponent.
The Coyotes have enjoyed tremendous success since joining the KIJHL – including the league championship during their inaugural season in 2010-11 – but this hasn’t translated to a return trip to the finals since.
Head and general manager Ken Law and his players are sure to be feeling plenty of pressure with their loyal fans once again expecting a long and joyous playoff run.
But being able to handle pressure and improve your level of play is what playoff hockey is all about.
There were a lot of devastated players, coaches and fans when the Coyotes came up far short of their championship aspirations last season.
But this year’s team is a veteran club that has proven it has everything it takes to go on a long and extended playoff run.
Playoff hockey games aren’t won on paper, but in the trenches and each and every player must pour his heart and soul into every shift and sacrifice their bodies to attain team success.
After two seasons of heartbreaking playoff disappointment, the time has come for the 2016-17 Coyotes to step up, play like warriors and get to the league championship final series.
The fun begins Friday night and there are sure to be huge crowds on hand at the Sun Bowl Arena as the Coyotes begin their quest for a second league championship.
As in life, you are supposed to learn from your mistakes, but that isn’t always the case in the wonderful game of hockey.
The Coyotes’ franchise has suffered enough heartache over the past two seasons and the time has come to make the leap, win their conference and return to the KIJHL championship series.
It should be a wild and fun ride for players, coaches and fans alike.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
