Coyotes draw first blood in round 2

It required lots of extra hockey, but the Osoyoos Coyotes drew first blood in the KIJHL Okanagan Division final against the Summerland Steam.

Austin Cleaver’s second goal of the game with 7:47 left in the second overtime period gave the Coyotes a 5-4 victory over the Steam on Tuesday at the Sun Bowl Arena.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series was played Wednesday in Osoyoos before play shifts to the Summerland Arena for Games 3 and 4 Friday and Saturday.

Coming off a dramatic Game 7 win over the Kelowna Chiefs in the opening round, the Steam pushed the well-rested Coyotes to the limit.

Wyatt Gale tied the game for the Steam with 1:14 to play with goalie Matt Huber on the bench for an extra attacker.

Michael MacLean, Scott Robinson and Konsta Jaske also scored for the Steam in a game that was tied 1-1 after 40 minutes before a six-goal third period. Daniel Stone, Carter Robinson and Judd Repole had the other goals and Austin Steger logged three assists for the Coyotes, who swept North Okanagan 4-0 in the first round.

Adam Jones made 30 saves for the win while Huber was sensational with 56 saves for Summerland.

In the other three division finals, Chase beat visiting Kamloops 4-1 to even the series 1-1; Kimberley won 3-2 at Creston Valley to take a 1-0 lead and Beaver Valley edged visiting Nelson 5-4 to also take a 1-0 lead.

BCHL: There will be a new B.C. Hockey League and national champion this season after the West Kelowna Warriors were bounced in four straight games by the Merritt Centennials in the first round of the playoffs.

Stephan Seeger tied the game with 26 seconds left in the third period and notched the winner at 2:03 of overtime as the Cents beat the Warriors 4-3 in Game 4 Tuesday at Nicola Valley Arena.

The Trail Smoke Eaters beat the Salmon Arm Silverbacks 4-3 on Tuesday to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the other Interior Division first-round series.

Game 4 was played Wednesday in Salmon Arm.

If Trail wins the series, the Penticton Vees will host Merritt in the second round starting March 17, while Trail would open Round 2 against the Vernon Vipers.

Also on Wednesday, Powell River was in position to sweep Cowichan Valley, and Wenatchee was up 3-0 against Prince George. Victoria led Nanaimo 2-1 going into Game 4 Wednesday, and Chilliwack leads Langley 3-1 with a chance to finish that series off at home on Friday.