CHIEFS DOWN STEAM, INCH CLOSER TO 3RD

Heading into Friday night's divisional matchup with the Kelowna Chiefs, the Summerland Steam were looking to have a fast start and neutralize a hungry Chiefs team looking for points in the standings. A fast start was going to be imperative and an early goal would be ideal for Summerland, but unfortunately Kelowna was the better team from the start. They were hungry, they were ready to play, and ready to try and climb the standings out of a first round visit to the KIJHL Regular Season Champion Osoyoos Coyotes.

Riley Pettitt (back) is taken into the crease
by a Kelowna defender. They ended up
in a pile on top of G Chris Turner, who
left the game with an upper body injury.
Photo: Sarah Mayer
(shotsbysarah.tumblr.com)

Just 1:36 into the hockey game, Chiefs starting goaltender Chris Turner went down in the crease with an apparent upper body injury. After a scramble in front of him and with Summerland controlling the puck, Steam forward Riley Pettitt was taken into the crease by Chiefs defender Josh Johnston. Both players ended up in a pile on top of Turner as the Kelowna keeper slid from left to right to track the puck. He stayed down for several minutes and left the game. Brady Lenardon would come in for Kelowna in his place and perform admirably throughout the rest of the game.Turner would return to the Kelowna bench later in the game to cheer his team on to a 4-3 victory.

After a long delay in assessing the Turner injury, Kelowna came out ready to play and capitalized almost right away. Just under 4 minutes into the game, Chiefs defender Kevin Roth was allowed to skate the length of the ice and put a shot towards Steam goaltender Spencer Huff. It was a hard shot from the blue line that took a bad bounce off of Huff's blocker and tumbled up and over the Steam goaltender and back down into the net. 

Kelowna would add to their lead just :15 seconds later on a long shot from Cole De Jonge. CDJ did a good job to take a cross ice pass from Kyle Laird at the point and take a shot "against the grain" back to the far post for a goal. It was another goal that Steam goaltender Spencer Huff would want back, but it was a good shot nonetheless.

Summerland Squirts hockey
entertained the fans with a 10:00 game
in the first intermission.
Photo: Sarah Mayer
shotsbysarah.tumblr.com

In the first intermission the fans and our broadcast had a chance to watch some Summerland Squirts hockey, which was extremely refreshing with the Steam being down 2-0 after the first period. 

In the second frame Summerland began to claw their way back. They controlled the majority of the play in the first half of the period and were rewarded with a goal on a powerplay. After a face-off win by Riley Pettitt, Jarrett Malchow feathered a pass onto the stick of Rylan Sideroff who hammered a slapper past Brady Lenardon to cut the lead to 1. 

Nick Josephs would then make his presence felt shortly after Summerland cut into the Kelowna lead. Josephs was able to deposit a loose puck behind Spencer Huff to restore the 2 goal lead after a defensive turnover behind the Summerland net. The puck popped loose to Josephs in the slot and he had no trouble converting. 

That made the score 3-1 in favour of the Chiefs, and they would extend their lead early in the third thanks to Dakota Kittle. After a strong pass from Josephs, Chiefs leading scorer Braeden Cyra carried the puck wide into the Steam zone. He beat a defender to the outside and had a sharp shot on Huff, who couldn't corral the rebound. Kittle was left all alone in front and was able to tap the puck into the empty net just before being caught by the Summerland back check. 

This made the score 4-1 for the visitors, and it looked as though they were going to cruise to the finish. That wasn't the case, however, as Head Coach John Depourcq rallied the home team together to try and get back in the game. 

Daylan Robertson pulled the Steam back within 2 with around 8:00 to play after a turnover by Kelowna at the offensive blue line. The puck was picked off by Paulsen Lautard, and Tyson Klingspohn did a great job to find Robertson with a pass across the neutral zone. Robertson walked over the line, used a Chiefs' player as a screen, and wired a hard wrister over the glove of Brady Lenardon to make the score 4-2. 

Braden Eliuk would then bring the Steam within 1 with 1:24 to play in the game. The powerplay tally was made possible by a strong pass across the blue line from Adam Jones and a low, hard shot from Michael McEachern. Eliuk was the beneficiary of a juicy rebound at the side of the net that he was able to locate and bang home. 

With the game within reach Summerland made a last ditch effort to get the game tied, but were unsuccessful. Michael McEachern had 2 shots from sharp angles in the final minute that Brady Lenardon had to be sharp on in order to preserve the win. 

The Kelowna win, coupled with a Princeton loss (6-3 at home to Osoyoos) brings the Chiefs within 2 points of 3rd place with just 4 games to go. Kelowna will head to Osoyoos to play the league champion Coyotes on Saturday night, while the Princeton Posse will come to Summerland to play the Steam on Sunday afternoon at 2PM. 

FortisBC will be our game-day sponsor for Sunday's game, and they'll have lots of cool games and promotions happening at their table all day long! 

GAME DAY REPORT: SUMMERLAND STEAM VS KELOWNA CHIEFS

SUMMERLAND STEAM	VS	KELOWNA CHIEFS
27-16-2-3	RECORD	19-23-2-1-2
.615%	WIN %	.447%
14-5-2-2	HOME / AWAY RECORD	8-11-1-2
T1	STREAK	L1
4-3-2-1	LAST 10 GAMES	4-5-0-1
2nd, OKANAGAN DIVISION	DIVISION RANK	4TH, OKANAGAN DIVISION
5-1	SEASON SERIES	1-5
159 3.31 GF PER GM (9th,  KIJHL)	GOALS FOR	142 3.02 GF PER GAME (15TH, KIJHL)
129 2.69 PER GM (3rd, KIJHL)	GOALS AGAINST	162 3.45 GA PER GAME (14TH, KIJHL)
+30	GOAL DIFFERENTIAL	-20
20.19% (6TH, KIJHL) HOME: 25.00% (3rd, KIJHL)	POWERPLAY %	OVERALL: 17.51% (8TH, KIJHL) ROAD: 12.37% (14TH, KIJHL)
84.30% (7TH, KIJHL) HOME: 87.07% (7TH, KIJHL)	PENALTY KILL %	OVERALL: 81.51% (11TH, KIJHL) ROAD: 81.73% (13TH, KIJHL)
JACK MILLS 26g + 29a = 55 PTS (T-4TH, KIJHL)	LEADING SCORER	BRAEDEN CYRA 14g +41a = 55 pts (T-4TH, KIJHL)

STEAM WELCOME THE CHIEFS TO THE STATION

After 2 ties and a loss last week, the Summerland Steam were back to practice this week to prepare for divisional games starting tonight. The Steam will host the Kelowna Chiefs and the Princeton Posse this weekend after coming out of last week with a tie against Osoyoos, a loss in Revelstoke, and a tie with Princeton on Sunday afternoon.

Sunday's contest was a test of depth for the Steam, as they were without Nicholas Gnazdowsky, Michael McEachern and Alex Williams heading into the contest and lost Cole Woodliffe early in the first period to injury. Jack Mills also left the game late in the 2nd and did not return. All are expected to be available this weekend when the  Steam host the Kelowna Chiefs on Friday night and the Princeton Posse on a second consecutive Sunday afternoon.

Up first is meeting #7 of 8 between the Steam and the Chiefs, and the final meeting of the season at the Summerland Arena. In 6 previous meetings between the two teams this season, Summerland has been victorious 5 times. In those victories the Steam have scored 5 or more goals 4 times, with the other being a 3-2 win in Rutland on December 9th.

Summerland's lone loss of the season to the Chiefs came in a January 13th meeting in Rutland that saw Nick Josephs, Braeden Cyra and Ryan Lawson combine for 10 points in a 5-3 victory. Cyra led the way with 5 (2g+3a), while Josephs recorded 3 (2g + 1a) and Lawson nabbed an assist in the win.

If you only watch the Steam at home and haven't seen the Chiefs lately, you're in for a surprise. Summerland has not hosted the Chiefs since November 28th, and the team that comes into the Summerland Arena on Friday night is a little different than the version put forth by Head Coach Jason Tansem and GM Grant Sheridan in that meeting.

The Chiefs have added depth up front in acquiring Kelowna native Ryan Lawson from the Columbia Valley Rockies. Lawson brings balance to Kelowna's top 6 and is a good bet to be playing alongside Chiefs' leading scorer Braeden Cyra on Friday night. In addition to Lawson, the Chiefs added some defensive depth in Carter Melnyk. Melnyk also came from Columbia Valley, and has fit in nicely and helped the Chiefs' special teams immensely.

The biggest addition for the Chiefs, however, was the return of Nick Josephs from the BCHL. He's only played 3 games due to injury, but has recorded 9 points (6g + 3a) in those games. Josephs is far and away the most gifted player in the KIJHL and will play a 'wild-card' sort of role for the Chiefs heading down the stretch with nobody really knowing if he'll be available or not on any given night

With the nature of the injury that Josephs is playing with, it is likely that he could be in and out of the lineup from now until the end of the playoffs. The Chiefs are a well balanced and talented team without him, but they become dangerously confident when he's in the lineup.

The Chiefs will need every bit of skill and confidence they have coming down the stretch with a condensed schedule. They currently are in a battle for third in the Okanagan Division with the Princeton Posse, sitting 4 points back with 5 games to play going into Friday night. Both teams have 5 games left, 4 against divisional opponents and 1 head to head.

Princeton gets Summerland, Osoyoos x2, Kelowna and Sicamous while Kelowna gets Summerland x2, Princeton, Osoyoos and Columbia Valley. Princeton plays 2 of their remaining 5 on home ice while Kelowna only gets 1 more chance on home ice.

Kelowna will have a condensed schedule coming down to the finish, playing twice this weekend and twice next weekend. It gets a little more complicated as they will have to squeeze in a make-up game with the Columbia Valley Rockies IN Invermere on Monday night. It was a game that has been scheduled and cancelled three times due to weather conditions and it looks as though they'll finally be able to get it in at the tail end of this weekend.

From a Summerland standpoint, the Steam are starting to get healthy and ready to make a playoff run. Coming into Friday night's clash with the division rival Chiefs, the Steam have locked up 2nd place in the Okanagan Division and home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The addition of Daylan Robertson and return of Paulsen Lautard have helped the Steam a tonne since January 10th. Robertson plays a complete, responsible 2-way game and brings his best every single night, while Lautard helps the offense with his big body and wicked shot.

The return of those two players has helped nobody more than Tyson Klingspohn. 'Klinger' seems to have found a home on the left wing on that line and finally broke his snakebite on Sunday with an absolute rocket of a shot against Princeton. Klingspohn has looked extremely good in the past 10 games for Summerland, and it's great to see him being rewarded with big-time minutes and points on the board.

The emergence of Lautard, Robertson and Klingspohn has given opposing teams a decision as to who their top pair is going to cover on defense. It usually leaves one of either the Lautard-Robertson-Klingspohn line or the Woodliffe-Mills-Eliuk line available to create opportunities for the Steam. The Yukon line has been especially good since the return of Riley Pettitt as well, causing all sorts of problems for opposing teams with their forecheck. Look for that to be a factor tonight when the Steam host the Chiefs.

Puck drop from the Summerland Arena is at 7:30 and Ultimate Hockey & Skate is our Game Night Sponsor. They'll have tons of cool stuff going on at their table and their mascot will be cheering on the Steam as well! You can catch Mike and I for full pre-game on KIJHL.ca around 7:20.

GAME DAY REPORT: SUMMERLAND STEAM VS PRINCETON POSSE

SUMMERLAND STEAM	VS	PRINCETON POSSE
27-16-1-3	RECORD	19-21-2-0-3
.617%	WIN %	.466%
14-5-1-2	HOME / AWAY RECORD	9-9-1-2
L1	STREAK	W1
5-3-1-1	LAST 10 GAMES	3-6-0-1
2nd, OKANAGAN DIVISION	DIVISION RANK	3RD, OKANAGAN DIVISION
4-2	SEASON SERIES	2-4
157 3.40 GF PER GM (10th,  KIJHL)	GOALS FOR	130 2.89 GF PER GAME (17TH, KIJHL)
127 2.71 PER GM (3rd, KIJHL)	GOALS AGAINST	3.11 GA PER GAME (9TH, KIJHL)
+30	GOAL DIFFERENTIAL	-10
20.49% (7TH, KIJHL) HOME: 25.81% (3rd, KIJHL)	POWERPLAY %	OVERALL: 15.84% (14TH, KIJHL) ROAD: 16.33% (10TH, KIJHL)
84.03% (7TH, KIJHL) HOME: 86.61% (7TH, KIJHL)	PENALTY KILL %	OVERALL: 81.82% (T-10TH, KIJHL) ROAD: 76.92% (16TH, KIJHL)
JACK MILLS 26g + 29a = 55 PTS (T-4TH, KIJHL)	LEADING SCORER	KURTIS KLINGER 21g +16a = 31 pts

STEAM TRAIN DERAILED IN REVELSTOKE

On Friday night the Summerland Steam headed to Revelstoke to complete a 2 game season series with the Grizzlies. In the first meeting earlier this season the Grizzlies walked out of the Summerland Arena with a 3-2 win. They would do the same at the Revelstoke Forum on Friday night as Summerland would drop a 3-2 decision.

Steven Fiust and Tyler Chavez-Leach each recorded 3 points for the Grizzlies, who went up early in the game thanks to a powerplay goal by Fuist. They would then go up 2-0 in the second thanks to another powerplay goal, this one from former Kelowna Chief Brady Mende.

Wyatt Gale would get the Steam on the board on a powerplay of their own with just a minute or two left in the second period. Just 12 seconds later, however, Revelstoke would reply with a goal from Tyler Chavez-Leach that would stand as the winner.

In the third Summerland pushed hard to try and narrow the gap, but were unsuccessful until the 19:21 mark when Jack Mills potted his team leading 26th of the season. Despite the push, Grizzlies goaltender Aidan Doak fended the Steam off and the Grizzlies went home with a valuable 2 points. Spencer Huff was exceptional for Summerland in a losing effort, stopping 39 shots on net.

Summerland will now return home and play 4 of their final 5 games of the regular season at the Summerland Arena. They host Princeton Sunday at 2PM, the Kelowna Chiefs at 7:30 on February 6, Princeton again at 2PM next Sunday February 8, and the Osoyoos Coyotes at 7:30 on February 13th.

GAME DAY REPORT: SUMMERLAND STEAM @ REVELSTOKE GRIZZLIES

REVELSTOKE GRIZZLIES	VS	SUMMERLAND STEAM
17-20-2-0-5	RECORD	27-15-0-3
7-9-0-3	HOME / AWAY RECORD	13-10-0-1
W-1	STREAK	T-1
4-5-0-1	LAST 10 GAMES	5-3-1-1
5TH, DOUG BIRKS DIVISION	DIVISION RANK	2ND, OKANAGAN DIVISION
1-0	SEASON SERIES	0-1
.466%	WIN %	.630%
135 3.07  GF PER GM (T-13TH,  KIJHL)	GOALS FOR	155 3.37 GF PER GM (9TH, KIJHL)
150 3.41 PER GM (14TH, KIJHL)	GOALS AGAINST	124 2.70 GA PER GAME (3RD, KIJHL)
-15	DIFFERENTIAL	31
21.58% (5TH , KIJHL) HOME: 20.47% (9TH, KIJHL)	POWERPLAY %	OVERALL: 20.50% (7TH, KIJHL) ROAD: 15.89% (T-12TH, KIJHL)
81.42% (13th , KIJHL) HOME: 80.87% (16TH, KIJHL)	PENALTY KILL %	OVERALL: 84.48% (7TH, KIJHL) ROAD: 82.50% (9TH, KIJHL)
STEVEN FIUST 18g + 31a = 49 PTS	LEADING SCORER	JACK MILLS 25g + 29a = 54 PTS

- Revelstoke owns 1-0 season series lead after a 3-2 win in Summerland earlier this season.

- The Grizzlies are a hungry team looking for points as they try to catch the 100 Mile House Wranglers in the Doug Birks Division for the 4th and final playoff spot.

- Tonight the Grizzlies will be without Griffin Fried and Jeff Bochon, both who sit out due to suspension. Summerland is nearly 100% healthy, with exception to Alex Williams who remains out with a wrist injury.

'ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END' ...TIED.

Cole Woodliffe drives towards the net of Osoyoos Coyotes Goaltender Brett Soles
on January 27th at the Summerland Arena.
Photo Credit: Sarah Mayer (shotsbysarah.tumblr.com)

It started tied, and somewhat fittingly through 70 minutes of heart-stopping action it ended tied. The display of skill put on by the Summerland Steam and the Osoyoos Coyotes last night at the Summerland Arena was nothing more than a showcase of how good KIJHL hockey can be. There were no outlandish actions from either side, no cheap post-whistle altercations, and thankfully no controversy, just good hockey at a furious pace.

For the first time this season the two teams were truly worried about nothing more than pushing each other to the brink of defeat, and the fans reaped the rewards. In past games when things were tight they were also nasty between these two bitter rivals, but on Tuesday night in a game that ended in a 2-2 draw they were hellbent on getting the best out of one another.

GAME RECAP

In the keys to the game on our broadcast, which we normally have 3 of, we only had one: Discipline. It didn't go for just one team, but both, and they didn't disappoint. Each team received just 2 powerplays in a game that was played clean, fast, and physical. Referee Ryan Le Sage did a good job of drawing the line early and making sure he had control of his game from the very beginning. Only one penalty was called in a period that had few whistles, no scoring, and took only 23 minutes to play. 

Osoyoos opened the scoring in the second period nearly 13:00 minutes in after a Cody Allen shot popped into the slot off the chest of Brett Huber in the Summerland goal. Judd Repole was there for Osoyoos and he beat a Steam defender to the puck before making a move to Huber's left and sliding it in for his 4th of the season. Allen would draw the primary assist while 'Yotes newcomer Bailey Shaver was credited the 2nd assist. 

Summerland would knot things up with just over 1:00 to play in the period as a scramble in front of the net resulted in 3 Steam players banging away at rebounds. 'Yotes goaltender Brett Soles had trouble with his glove and couldn't corral the initial shot but made 2 saves on the doorstep before Braden Eliuk banged the puck into the net for his 9th of the season. Cole Woodliffe and Tyson Klingspohn would draw assists on the equalizer.

The home team came out in the third looking to build on a good finish to the second, but gave up a breakaway just :22 in. Aaron Azevedo, the 'Yotes leading scorer, found his way behind the Summerland defense but was thwarted by Brett Huber awaiting him at the top of the crease. Azevedo made a good move, but Huber didn't bite on the fake and followed across to make the stop.

Just :32 after the breakaway save by Huber the Steam jumped ahead on the scoreboard. Braden Eliuk would net his second of the night on a turnaround shot from the slot that caromed off the stick of a Coyotes defender and climbed behind Brett Soles. Eliuk's 10th of the season looked to be the winner as Summerland did a good job of locking things down and even taking the pace to the Coyotes in the middle of the third period. 

As the clock wound down Osoyoos turned the tide and brought the pressure to the Summerland end of the ice. With 8:31 to play on the clock the Coyotes got a break as Troy Maclise got behind the Summerland defense. Maclise is the fastest player in the KI bar none and it looked as though he was off to the races 1-on-1 with Brett Huber, but Adam Jones somehow tracked him down. Jones did all he could to erase the breakaway attempt, but took a penalty in the process.

There is no doubt that referee Ryan Le Sage SHOULD have awarded Maclise a penalty shot as it was a clear cut breakaway that ended with no shot on goal. Instead he assessed Jones 2 minutes for tripping, and the league's 3rd best powerplay went to work. It took them nearly 1:30, but it finally clicked for the Coyotes when Troy Maclise curled off the left wing wall and placed a sharp wrist shot over the far side shoulder of Huber to tie the game at 2 with 7:08 to play. 

Both teams had their chances in the final minutes to win the game, but to no avail. This game was destined for OT from the beginning and was only fitting that each team got a point and the right to try and earn the extra. 

Despite back and forth action through 5 minutes of 4-on-4 and 5 minutes of 3-on-3, we finished tied when the final buzzer sounded after 70 minutes. In the 10 minutes of overtime I'd venture a guess that each team had 3 quality chances to end it, but good defensive work from both sides kept the score tied. 

These two teams will go at it one more time this season, February 13th at 7:30 at the Summerland Arena. 

THOUGHTS

- Summerland has not seen a faster team than the Osoyoos Coyotes this season. Not only are the 'Yotes fast, but they're big and skilled, making them extremely difficult to contain. I thought Summerland did an outstanding job of keeping them to the outside last night and shutting down passing lanes down low in the defensive zone.

- Not only are they fast, but the Osoyoos Coyotes are big, particularly on the blue line. All of Cody Allen, Daryl Senholt and Daniel Stone stand well over 6' tall and all move extremely well for their size. They provide a tough wall at the 'Yotes blue line with a good mix of skill, physicality, and reach. Allen also hit 2 posts in Tuesday night's game, one in each of the second and third periods. 

- Osoyoos did a good job of getting pucks deep and forcing pressure below the Summerland goal line. They were back there all night and looking to make passes to a loose member of the pack in the slot. 

- The Steam did a good job to hold the league's best offense (AVG near 5.00 GPG) to 2 goals and under 30 shots on net. Summerland played a sound defensive game for most of the night and were strong below the goal line to match the tenacity of the Coyotes. 

- I thought, for what it's worth, that Cole Williams was Summerland's best defenseman on the night. He matched against the 'big boys' for Osoyoos most of the night and was strong on both puck and body below the goal line in his own zone.

- I would have liked to have seen Summerland a little more successful on zone exits. At times it looked as though they were a little too excited and didn't realize they had time to move the puck. 

- Both goaltenders were good in this hockey game, particularly late in the third period and in OT. Shot totals were far from high, but quality scoring chances were aplenty and both 'tenders stood tall. Brett Huber made 26 saves on the night while Brett Soles made 21 at the other end for Osoyoos. 

- I thought Tyson Klingspohn had another good game for Summerland. The young man is mired in a scoring slump that reached 20 games on Tuesday night, but has contributed in other ways and had several good chances in that game. The goals are going to come for him if he keeps doing what he's doing. 

WHAT'S NEXT

Summerland will now embark on their final "out-of-division" road trip of the season as they head to Revelstoke on Friday night. The Kelowna Chiefs paid their one and only visit to the Revelstoke Forum on Tuesday night and fell 5-0 at the hands of the Grizzlies, so Summerland will surely look to avoid the same fate. 

The Steam will then return home on Sunday to play the Princeton Posse at 2PM. 

Yes, it's Super Bowl Sunday, but I promise you'll be home in time to watch Katy Perry bounce around at the halftime show!