STEAM SNATCH VICTORY FROM JAWS OF DEFEAT, PREP FOR GAME 2

Jarrett Malchow celebrates with linemates
Riley Pettitt, Wyatt gale, Adam Jones & Lathan
McKinney after Malchow's Game winning goal
in Game 1 vs Kelowna.
Photo: Sarah Mayer (Shotsbysarah.tumblr.com) 

There really is nothing better than playoff hockey, and the Summerland Steam and the Kelowna Chiefs proved that Friday night. In a wild game that saw swings in momentum, shots on net, and even swings of sticks, the home team managed to come away with a 3-2 victory.

Both teams got the good start they were undoubtedly looking for to start Game 1 of the playoffs, combining for 15 shots in the first 8 minutes of the hockey game. Both got early powerplays as well but were unsuccessful in the department of conversion. 

After some back and forth action to both ends of the ice and some good saves from both goaltenders, Summerland got on the board first. Kendell Wilson opened the scoring for the Steam at 8:51 of the first period after a sharp shot from Nelson Hurry created a rebound in front of Chiefs' goaltender Chris Turner. Turner made a great save on the initial shot off the wing but kicked a rebound into the slot where Wilson was waiting to hammer home the rebound. This gave the home team the lead as the building erupted, but the elation did not last long. 

Just :31 after the Wilson opener, Kelowna would equalize on a goal from recent University of Central Oklahoma commit, Ethan Rusnack. After Kelowna went to work in the offensive zone the puck was cycled back to the point by Braeden Cyra. He found Cole De Jonge with a pass, and CDJ sent a low, hard shot towards the Summerland net. Rusnack was there to put a good tip on the puck to beat Steam goaltender Brett Huber and tie the game at 1. 

Rusnack would thrust his team into the driver's seat in the 2nd period, recording his second of the game with just over 7 minutes to play. The goal was a beauty as Rusnack took the puck off the stick of his goaltender Chris Turner, and burned 2 Steam defenders wide down the right wing. He then took a shot low to the blocker side of Huber going post and in to give Kelowna their 2-1 lead. 

That score would hold through most of the third period as both teams took a couple of penalties but went 0-fer on the powerplay. Summerland ended up 9/9 on the PK in Game 1 while also getting a powerplay goal. That goal was the one that tied the game with 5:50 to play in the third period, coming off the stick of Daylan Robertson. 

Robertson was the benefactor of a home-town bounce, and poked a puck past Chris Turner in the Kelowna net to tie the game at 2. Paulsen Lautard started the play with a dump in from just outside the Kelowna blue line. Whether it was on purpose or by accident, the puck clamored off the end boards and straight back out front where Robertson beat Kelowna defender Josh Johnston to it and poked it in to tie the score. 

Just as we were talking about what the tie meant for Summerland and what they should be focused on, they took the lead. It took :41 seconds after the tying goal from Robertson for the Yukon Line to strike gold below the Kelowna goal line. The line of Jarrett Malchow, Wyatt Gale and Riley Pettitt have been Summerland's best forecheckers all season long, and they caused havoc behind the Kelowna net again on Friday. 

After some good work by Wyatt Gale on the corner boards he got the puck to Pettitt on the cycle. Pettitt then motored, as he does, behind the net. Just when it looked like he was going to go all the way behind the net he fed a pass out from the left post of Chris Turner, right onto the stick of a waiting Jarrett Malchow. Malchow made no mistake, notching what would stand to be the game winner with 5:09 left on the clock.

After the goal by Malchow, Summerland did a good job to lock things down in their own zone and contain the pushback from Kelowna. As the Chiefs tried to tie the game Summerland continued to not allow them time and space, and were able to clear the puck out of danger when necessary. Daylan Robertson then won a defensive zone faceoff with 1.9 seconds remaining to seal the victory. 

THOUGHTS

- Brett Huber was far and away the best player for Summerland on the night. He made 29 saves in the victory, including several big saves on penalty kills in the 2nd period. 

- Summerland's best line on the night was the Yukon line of Jarrett Malchow, Riley Pettitt and Wyatt Gale. They were hard on the forecheck all night long and went to the "dirty areas" to make plays in all 3 zones. 

- Ethan Rusnack was Kelowna's best player on the night, followed closely by defenceman Kevin Roth. Roth had a shot sneak through Brett Huber early in the game only to be cleared away by Michael McEachern before it crossed the goal line. Roth is Kelowna's best and most mobile defenseman, skating smoothly with the ability to get the puck up ice in a real hurry. 

- Things got a little hacky and whacky at the end of the 2nd period after Riley Pettitt fell on a puck off a faceoff and was speared. Jack Mills took exception and got a spear in the guts for his trouble as well from the Chiefs' Braeden Cyra. No penalties were doled out on the play and thankfully tempers calmed before the start of the third period. 

- Mills was active for Summerland all night, buzzing around the offensive zone with linemates Cole Woodliffe and Braden Eliuk. Mills and Dakota Kittle got into it late in the third, having a bit of a wrestling match in the corner to the left of Chiefs' tender Chris Turner. Referee Ryan Le Sage gave them both a double minor for roughing instead of a fighting major, meaning both are eligible to play in Game 2 on Saturday

- Chiefs' defender Carter Melnyk was given 2 minutes for cross checking and a 10 minute misconduct in the final 10 minutes of play that led to the Robertson tying goal for Summerland. He was assessed the penalty after extending his arms and stick into the back of Braden Eliuk, sending Eliuk to the ice with some force. Melnyk will be eligible to play in Game 2. 

WHAT'S NEXT

After an extremely entertaining Game 1, we move on to Game 2. The second of this Best of 7 goes Saturday night in Summerland, presented by our friends at Ultimate Hockey & Skate. They'll have some fun prizes to give away and "The Fuzz" will be on hand as well! 

 Puck drop is 7:30 and you can catch the pregame show with myself (hopefully my voice is back to 100%), Mike Swanson and Joel Barg prior to puck drop at 7:15. 

GAME DAY REPORT: STEAM HOST CHIEFS IN GAME 1 OF PLAYOFFS

SUMMERLAND STEAM	VS	KELOWNA CHIEFS
28-19-2-0-3 61 POINTS	RECORD	23-24-2-1-2 50 POINTS
.587%	WIN %	.481%
15-7-2-2	HOME / AWAY RECORD	11-12-1-2
L2	STREAK	W2
3-4-2-1	LAST 10 GAMES	5-5
2nd, OKANAGAN DIVISION	DIVISION RANK	3rd, OKANAGAN DIVISION
5-3	SEASON SERIES	3-5
167 3.21 GF PER GM (11th,  KIJHL)	GOALS FOR	161 3.10 GF PER GAME (T-13th, KIJHL)
141 2.71 PER GM (3rd, KIJHL)	GOALS AGAINST	173 3.33 GA PER GAME (14TH, KIJHL)
+26	GOAL DIFFERENTIAL	-12
19.38% (7TH, KIJHL) HOME: 23.64% (4TH, KIJHL)	POWERPLAY %	OVERALL: 17.72% (9TH, KIJHL) ROAD: 12.61% (15TH, KIJHL)
83.78% (9TH, KIJHL) HOME: 86.61% (8TH, KIJHL)	PENALTY KILL %	OVERALL: 82.26% (11TH, KIJHL) ROAD: 82.54% (7TH, KIJHL)
JACK MILLS 27g + 29a = 56 PTS	LEADING SCORER	BRAEDEN CYRA 15g +45a = 60 pts

STEAM, CHIEFS RENEW HOSTILITIES IN FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF MATCHUP

Summerland's Riley Pettitt faces off with a Kelowna Chiefs player in a game
on February 6th at the Summerland Arena.
Photo: Sarah Mayer (shotsbysarah.tumblr.com) 

52 games have come and gone in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League this season, and seemingly we're right back where we started. The Summerland Steam opened the 2014/15 season at home on a Friday night against the Kelowna Chiefs, blowing the doors off the visitors in a 6-2 victory. They'll hope to do the same thing this Friday when the two teams open the 'second season' at the Summerland Arena.

With Summerland finishing 2nd in their division with 61 points and Kelowna finishing 3rd with 50, Summerland will hold home-ice advantage in the first round. The Chiefs went 2-0 on the final weekend of the season with wins over Princeton and Summerland, which jumped them ahead of the Posse by one point and secured the #2 vs #3 matchup against the Steam. It also kept them out of the #1 vs #4 matchup with the KIJHL Regular Season Champion Osoyoos Coyotes.

These Steam and the Chiefs did battle 8 times throughout the regular season with Summerland holding a 5-3 edge in the win column. Having said that, the Chiefs came on late in the season and won 2 of the final 3 meetings. Both teams like home ice in this matchup, Summerland coming in 3-1 at home while the Chiefs sit even at 2-2.

Summerland started well in the regular season and were fairly consistent throughout, cruising to a second place finish in the KIJHL's Okanagan Division. They faded a little down the stretch, going 3-4-2-1 in their final 10 games, but have a fresh slate headed into the playoffs with all but Alex Williams healthy and available on the active roster. Williams is back skating with the team in practice, but GM Gregg Wilson does not expect him to make an appearance in the first round playoff series with Kelowna.

 Kelowna, on the other hand, started slowly and picked it up as the season went on. They weren't much better in their final 10 games going 5-5, but it was enough to get them past the Posse and into 3rd place. They've been much improved since making a couple of moves early in the season, acquiring Ryan Lawson and Carter Melnyk in separate trades with the Columbia Valley Rockies. The Chiefs were also bolstered by the return of Nick Josephs at the December 1st deadline, although he didn't play a game for the Chiefs until January 10th. In the 8 games Josephs has played in a Chiefs uniform this season he's recorded 18 points (9g + 9a).

Summerland is going to have to be sure to contain Josephs, as well as the other Kelowna forwards, if they want to win this series. The Chiefs are an extremely dangerous and confident team heading into the playoffs, and in my opinion are a little more to handle than a regular #3 seed when all their bodies are healthy.

Talking to people on both sides of this rivalry, there's one word that seems to come to the forefront to describe this series:

  FUN. 

The two teams have their fair share of hostilities to settle, but it'll be the team who keeps their composure who wins the series. Both teams have problems doing that, as both recorded over 900 total penalty minutes each during the regular season, which makes discipline matter that much more in a series like this. Both teams play well (in the top half of the KI) on special teams and have several weapons at their disposal to use with the man advantage. The team whose best players are exactly that in this series is the team who is going to win, and it's going to be a lot of fun to watch it unfold.



PLAYOFF SCHEDULE FOR ROUND 1: 

GAME 1: Friday, Feb 20 @ 7:30. Summerland Arena 
GAME 2: Saturday, Feb 21 @ 7:30. Summerland Arena
GAME 3: Sunday, Feb 22 @ 7:00. Rutland Arena 
GAME 4: Tuesday, Feb 24 @ 7:00. Rutland Arena 
GAME 5: Thursday, Feb 26 @ 7:30, Summerland Arena **
GAME 6: Friday, Feb 27 @ 7:00. Rutland Arena **
GAME 7: Saturday, Feb 28 @ 7:30. Summerland Arena **


** - If necessary

GAME DAY: STEAM VISIT CHIEFS IN POTENTIAL PLAYOFF MATCHUP

KELOWNA CHIEFS	VS	SUMMERLAND STEAM
22-24-2-1-2	RECORD	28-18-2-0-3
11-12-1-0-1	HOME / AWAY RECORD	13-11-0-1
W-2	STREAK	L1
4-6	LAST 10 GAMES	3-4-2-1
3RD, OKANAGAN DIVISION	DIVISION RANK	2ND, OKANAGAN DIVISION
2-5	SEASON SERIES	5-2
.471%	WIN %	.598%
158 3.10  GF PER GM (14TH,  KIJHL)	GOALS FOR	166 3.25 GF PER GM (10TH, KIJHL)
172 3.37 PER GM (14TH, KIJHL)	GOALS AGAINST	124 2.70 GA PER GAME (3RD, KIJHL)
-14	DIFFERENTIAL	31
17.32% (9TH , KIJHL) HOME: 21.67% (7TH, KIJHL)	POWERPLAY %	OVERALL: 20.50% (7TH, KIJHL) ROAD: 15.89% (T-12TH, KIJHL)
81.92% (11th , KIJHL) HOME: 81.34% (14TH, KIJHL)	PENALTY KILL %	OVERALL: 84.48% (7TH, KIJHL) ROAD: 82.50% (9TH, KIJHL)
BRAEDEN CYRA 15g + 41a = 60 PTS	LEADING SCORER	JACK MILLS 26g + 29a = 55 PTS

COYOTES NIP STEAM ONCE AGAIN

Another game, and another Coyotes win. That makes 7 on the season in an 8 game season series with the Summerland Steam, with the lone different result coming on Jan 27 in a 2-2 tie. This game, a 3-1 Coyotes victory, was Summerland's to lose. They came out strong and stuck with the league champion Coyotes all game long, but defensive turnovers once again plagued the Steam.

The D zone has been a problem for the boys from Summerland of late, and it showed late in the game. After Jackson Glimpel opened the scoring with his 4th of the year on a first period powerplay, Daylan Robertson tied things up by tipping a Michael McEachern shot past Coyotes' goaltender Lawrence Langan in the 2nd. Robertson's 4th of the season tied the game and gave the Steam some life as they continued to press.

This game stayed a 1-1 tie for quite a while, and it was extremely fitting as the two teams were once again hellbent on getting the best out of one another and entertaining the fans.This game was eerily similar to that 2-2 tie on January 27th, but did have a little more rough stuff. Both teams had their chances at powerplays and Osoyoos cashed in for their first goal of the game. The powerplay came after a melee in the corner to the left of Steam starter Brett Huber resulted in coincidental minors with an original penalty on the play going to Jack Mills for high sticking. The 'Yotes PP cashed in, as they seem to do against Summerland.

The Steam went 0-for-3 on the powerplay on the night. Two of those powerplays came on calls for either cross checking or checking from behind that resulted in Coyotes' players being ejected from the hockey game. Brett Anderson was ejected first after a hit on Lathan McKinney on the end boards in the 2nd period. McKinney was slow to get up and played one more abbreviated shift before leaving the game and not returning.

In the third period Summerland was pressing for the go-ahead goal, and were doing a good job of hemming the Coyotes inside their own zone. Langan was solid in the Coyotes' net, and he weathered the storm for the 'Yotes long enough for them to get a gift from the Summerland defense. After a defensive turnover by the Steam with 2:23 to play, Luc Gradisar would cash in his 20th of the season with a well placed shot over the right shoulder of Brett Huber.

Reeling, the Steam had to go looking for some late-game heroics to get at least a point. While pressing in the offensive zone, the Yukon line (Pettitt, Gale, Malchow) were buzzing around looking for an equalizing goal. After some good work by Pettitt on the corner boards he made a quick dash against the flow of play and was hit from behind by the much bigger Darryl Senholt, leading to the second Coyotes' ejection of the game. This one was a major penalty in the mind of referee Nick Panter, and Senholt was given the gate and an early shower.

Senholt was clearly unhappy with the call, and for what it's worth, he should have been. There was no doubt it was a penalty and Summerland should have been on the powerplay, but from our point of view in the press box there were worse hits go uncalled in the game. Anderson's hit on McKinney was arguably worse than the check Senholt put on Pettitt, too, but Senholt was given the major penalty and will now have to miss the Coyotes' home finale with the North Okanagan Knights on Saturday night.

The call on Senholt wasn't the most surprising part of the play. As the referees arm shot into the air Summerland was in control of the puck. Rylan Sideroff made a good move around a Coyotes defender and walked into the slot for what would have been a great scoring chance, but the whistle blew as he began to wind his shot up. We weren't really sure at the time the reasoning for the whistle, and it's still a bit confusing as the downed Summerland player was in the midst of returning to his feet. Sideroff would have had a very good chance to tie the game with a shot from the slot with traffic in front.

With that powerplay, Summerland set up in the offensive zone with just under a minute to play. Jack Mills, playing QB on the powerplay in the final minute, set up on the half wall to the left of goaltender Lawrence Langan. As the Steam moved the puck up and down the wall, Mills saw his opportunity to curl out with a shot. As he did so he was hooked off the puck, allowing Troy Maclise to bank the puck the length of the ice into the empty net.

That's how the game would end, on a sour note for Summerland, but that's not how it always was. Besides the rough stuff it was an extremely entertaining hockey game. Fast paced, physical, back and forth action that saw the teams COMBINE for only 44 shots on net. Osoyoos proved to be the better team in the long run, but Summerland gave it their best effort and played a pretty consistent hockey game throughout.

There's a reason the Coyotes are the league champions (Congrats, by the way) and it was a good litmus test for the Summerland Steam to know that when they stay out of the penalty box they can hang with the best team in the KIJHL night after night.

After last night's action, the Okanagan Division playoff picture is still a little cloudy. Heading into the last night of Okanagan Division action of the 2014/15 KIJHL season on Saturday, 2 things are clear:

Osoyoos will finish 1st and Summerland will finish 2nd.

What is unclear is the seeding of 3rd and 4th. Princeton and Kelowna have both locked up playoff spots, and after playing one another last night (a 3-1 Kelowna win). the Chiefs sit 3rd. The teams are tied for points, but the Chiefs have 1 more regulation time win.

The Chiefs will host the Summerland Steam tonight, while the Posse will head to Sicamous to play the Eagles. Any form of Kelowna win, or a Princeton loss, will result in the Chiefs finishing 3rd and the Posse in 4th. The only way the Posse can jump the Chiefs is with a win in Sicamous coupled with a Chiefs loss to the Summerland Steam on Saturday night.

Onto the PLAYOFFS!

GAME DAY REPORT: STEAM HOST COYOTES FOR FINAL TIME

SUMMERLAND STEAM	VS	OSOYOOS COYOTES
28-17-2-3, 61 PTS	RECORD	40-7-2-1, 83 PTS
.610%	WIN %	.830%
15-6-2-2	HOME / AWAY RECORD	19-4-1-1
W1	STREAK	L1
4-3-2-1	LAST 10 GAMES	7-1-2
2nd, OKANAGAN DIVISION	DIVISION RANK	1st, OKANAGAN DIVISION
0-5-1-1	SEASON SERIES	6-0-1
165 3.30 GF PER GM (9th,  KIJHL)	GOALS FOR	230 4.60 GF PER GAME (1st, KIJHL)
135 2.70 PER GM (3rd, KIJHL)	GOALS AGAINST	113 2.26 GA PER GAME (1st, KIJHL)
+30	GOAL DIFFERENTIAL	+117
20.09% (7TH, KIJHL) HOME: 24.30% (3rd, KIJHL)	POWERPLAY %	OVERALL: 23.21% (4TH, KIJHL) ROAD: 19.51% (7TH, KIJHL)
84.34% (7TH, KIJHL) HOME: 86.99% (6TH, KIJHL)	PENALTY KILL %	OVERALL: 85.17% (6TH, KIJHL) ROAD: 81.75% (12TH, KIJHL)
JACK MILLS 26g + 29a = 55 PTS	LEADING SCORER	AARON AZEVEDO 24g +42a = 66 pts

I could beat this rivalry to DEATH with analysis, but there isn't anything that we haven't already covered. These are two teams that don't have many pleasantries to exchange with one another, and it's always fun when they meet.


Tickets are available NOW at Nesters Market, or at the door prior to puck drop at 7:30 Friday night. Ultimate Hockey & Skate Ltd. is our game night sponsor and will be on hand with contests and giveaways all night long. Don't forget the all new Bauer 1X sticks go on the rack in their store when it opens on Friday morning.

Make sure to join Mike, Joel and I on the webcast, as we'll have a full pre-game show including comments from (hopefully) both coaches prior to puck drop starting at 7:15! You can also follow along on Steam Social Media with Facebook and Twitter. or with myself on Twitter as well.

STEAM FINISH WEEKEND WITH WIN OVER POSSE

Summerland Steam Forward Daylan Robertson goes in on a breakaway
during a game vs the Princeton Posse on February 8th. He scored.
Photo: Sarah Mayer (shotsbysarah.tumblr.com) 

Heading into a Sunday afternoon matinee with the Princeton Posse this past weekend, the Summerland Steam found themselves winless in 4 games. They tied two of those games, but were looking to start to build towards the playoffs with just two games remaining after Sunday.

They were successful, beating the visitors from the Similkameen by a score of 3-2. The Steam were looking for a fast start against Princeton after coming out flat against Kelowna in a 4-3 loss on Friday night. Summerland got the start they wanted, getting goals from Wyatt Gale, his 11th of the season, and Daylan Robertson, his 3rd, in the first 10:00 of the first period.

Paulsen Lautard would make the score 3-0 with a gorgeous goal, his 19th of the season, in the first 2 minutes of the third period. Princeton would then stage a comeback of sorts as Trevor Pereverzoff banked a puck in off of Steam defender Cole Williams with 3:11 remaining. Brandon Schaber would then slap a puck the length of the ice into the Steam net with just :01 left on the clock as the Steam started to pour off the bench towards goaltender Brett Huber. The goal would stand, as would the score at 3-2. Huber made 22 saves on 24 shots in the game while his counterpart, Princeton's Stephen Heslop stopped 27 of 30.

The loss for Princeton meant they stayed just 2 points up on the Kelowna Chiefs for 3rd in the KIJHL's Okanagan Division. If the playoffs started at the end of play this weekend, the Posse would be the first round opponent for Summerland when playoffs get underway on February 20th and 21st at the Summerland Arena.

The win was a welcome sign for the Summerland Steam after that 4-3 loss to the Kelowna Chiefs on Friday. Dakota Kittle would net the winner for the Chiefs while Nick Josephs, Kevin Roth and Cole De Jonge also tallied for the visitors. Josephs led the Chiefs offensively with 3 points in the game, giving him 12 points in just 4 games played since returning to the Chiefs. Rylan Sideroff, Daylan Robertson and Braden Eliuk would tally for the Steam in the loss while Spencer Huff made 19 saves for Summerland.

Summerland now sits clearly in 2nd place with 61 points heading to the final weekend of the season. They will host the KIJHL Champion Osoyoos Coyotes on Friday the 13th before travelling to Kelowna for the season finale against the Chiefs.