Steam hang on to edge rival Coyotes 4-3

The Summerland Steam hung on for a big win in the latest edition of the Battle of the South Okanagan.

Riley Pettitt scored twice and the Steam built a 4-0 lead after two periods and held off the Osoyoos Coyotes 4-3 in KIJHL action in front of 412 fans at the Sun Bowl Arena on Friday.

Ben Dietrich-Scammel and Wyatt Gale also lit the lamp as the Steam picked up their second straight win at the Sun Bowl.

Hunter Johnson, Ryan Roseboom and Austin Steger — the latter with just 47 seconds left — scored in a furious third-period rally by the Coyotes.

Matt Huber made 42 saves for the win while Adam Jones made 24 stops for Osoyoos.

SUNDAY — Coyotes 6 Princeton 0: Jackson Glimpel produced a hat-trick and an assist as Osoyoos blanked the Posse in a matinee in front of 362 fans at the Oliver Arena.

Daniel Stone, Colin Bell and Reid Wilson also connected for the Coyotes, who scored five power play goals as they built period leads of 3-0 and 4-0.

Colton Rhodes carded three assist and Liam Aitken made 23 stops for his sixth shutout of the campaign and 10th overall for Osoyoos. Jason Mailhiot made 42 stops for Princeton. SATURDAY — Steam 6 North Okanagan 2: Everett Scherger scored twice as visiting Summerland beat the struggling Knights for their fourth straight win.

Dietrich-Scammel, Michael MacLean, Andrew York and Mathew Alcorn also scored for the Steam, who led 2-0 and 4-1 at the period breaks.

Jaden Hay and Dean Whitcomb clicked for the Knights, who were outshot 39-18.

Osoyoos (28-7-1) still leads the division with 57 points, but the Steam (23-7-3-1) are just seven off the pace with two games in hand.

Kelowna Chiefs appear destined to finish third, while North Okanagan (12-22-1) still leads Princeton (9-23-4-1) by two points for the last playoff spot.

Tonight, the Knights play the Steam again in a 7:30 p.m. puck-drop at the Summerland Arena.

The Steam also host the Chase Heat on Friday and visit Kelowna on Saturday, while Osoyoos travels to Kelowna on Friday and entertains the Kamloops Storm on Saturday.

ICE CHIPS: The Okanagan-Shuswap Conference and the Kootenay Conference skated to a 3-3 tie in the KIJHL Prospects Showcase on Saturday at the Rutland Arena . . . . Coyotes F Colin Bell leads the league with 57 points, two more than Castlegar’s Logan Styler.