John Arendt
Black Press
The Osoyoos Coyotes clinched the division finals with a 3-2 win over the Summerland Steam on Monday evening.
The game was the sixth in the best-of-seven series.
Despite the loss, Summerland Steam co-owner and general manager Gregg Wilson said the Steam performed well through the season and the playoffs.
“They just keep getting better and better,” he said.
In the first period, Daylan Robertson scored an unassisted goal for the Steam at 16:11.
The Coyotes responded at 11:09 with a power play goal by Jackson DeMatos, assisted by Rainer Glimpel and Luc Gradisar.
In the second period, the Colten Braid of the Coyotes scored on a power play at 8:21, assisted by Tyler Holz and Gradisar.
Riley Pettitt of the Steam tied the game with an unassisted goal at 4:40.
The final goal came at 16:42 when Braid scored on a power play for Osoyoos. Bell and Aaron Azevedo assisted.
The best of seven series lasted six games. While the Steam lost their first two games in Osoyoos, they won the next two in Summerland.
The game on March 5 went into triple overtime before the Steam earned a 3-2 victory.
The long game was around 20 minutes short of a league record.
“It was a gruelling game for both teams,” Wilson said after the game.
This is the first time this season Summerland has defeated the Osoyoos Coyotes.
In exhibition and regular season games, the Coyotes won against the Steam eight times. Twice the games ended in ties.
The Steam defeated the Coyotes again on Saturday evening with a 6-2 win.
On Sunday, in Osoyoos, the Coyotes won 5-2.
Wilson said the Osoyoos team was the strongest in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League this season.
“They are a very good team,” he said. “They only lost nine games all year.”
For next year’s season, Wilson hopes to see the Steam to continue with the strong performance from this year.