Ryan Roseboom is ready for a rebound as Kaleb Comishin (out of frame) puts the puck past Summerland goalie Matthew Huber late in the second period Saturday. The goal put Osoyoos back in the game, but a disastrous third period led to a 7-2 loss for the Coyotes. (Richard McGuire photo)
The Summerland Steam exacted bitter revenge on the Osoyoos Coyotes Saturday night, winning 7-2 and giving the Coyotes their second loss of the weekend.
Summerland’s victory, just two weeks after losing 5-1 to Osoyoos, puts them ahead two points to lead the Okanagan Division of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL).
While Osoyoos remains in second place, the Kelowna Chiefs are only a single point behind.
On Friday, the Coyotes also suffered a narrow 3-2 loss to the North Okanagan Knights in Armstrong. The Knights are second from the bottom of the division.
Although the Coyotes narrowly outshot the Steam on Saturday, the Summerland team seemed to have better control of the puck, out passing and out skating the local team. It was as though it was two different teams from those who played two weeks earlier.
Still, fans witnessed some solid hockey free of the thuggery that plagued the previous weekend’s two matches with Kelowna. In total, there were only 18 minutes of penalties and all of them were minors.
But Summerland’s power play was much more effective this time – they scored two out of three times on power plays while Osoyoos couldn’t manage any power play goals, despite having six chances.
Osoyoos opened the scoring just 21 seconds into the game on a goal by Ryan Roseboom, assisted by Colin Bell and Austin Cleaver.
A power play goal by Summerland late in the first period left the two teams tied 1-1 going into the second period.
Close to the middle of the second period, the Coyotes began to stumble. Goalie Adam Jones let in two goals just three minutes apart.
Late in the second period, Kaleb Comishin scored to put the Coyotes back in the game, with Bell getting his second assist of the night.
In the third period, the Osoyoos seemed almost to give up, allowing Summerland to score four goals while the Coyotes failed to score any goals of their own.
When Summerland took a tripping penalty with less than three minutes remaining in the game and the score 5-2 in the Steam’s favour, coach Ken Law tried a Hail Mary, pulling goalie Jones to give the Coyotes six attackers to four.
It failed when Summerland’s Cole Williams scored his second goal of the night, unassisted, on the empty net.
A final Summerland goal on a power play with just eight seconds remaining in the game was the icing on Summerland’s sweet revenge.
The Coyotes should have had an easier time Friday night against the underperforming Knights, but even in this game they struggled.
There were no goals in the first period, though the Knights narrowly outshot the Coyotes 9-7.
Approaching the halfway mark of the game, the Knights opened the scoring. Four minutes later, they made it 2-0.
Later in the period, the Coyotes tied the score with two power play goals two minutes apart.
First, Carter Shannon scored, assisted by Daniel Stone and Judd Repole.
Then it was Stone’s turn to score, assisted by Repole and Bell.
The two teams remained tied for much of the third period before the Knights managed a power play goal with less than four minutes remaining.
The Coyotes pulled goalie Liam Aitken for an extra attacker in the final minutes, but this failed to change the score either way.
This Friday, the Coyotes travel to Kelowna for a rematch with the Chiefs, who may be out for their own revenge after losing two games to Osoyoos at the end of October.
Then on Saturday, the Coyotes play a home game against the Princeton Posse, who are stuck in distant last place in the Okanagan Division. And, after losing 5-3 to Princeton back on Oct. 22, it might be the Coyotes’ turn to settle old scores.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
