Chiefs leave nothing to chance in Game 1

No. 1-Kelowna hammers Osoyoos Coyotes 10-1

The mission Tuesday for the Osoyoos Coyotes was to shut down the big guns.

That didn’t go well for the Yotes, playing the Kelowna Chiefs in the unfriendly confines of Rutland Arena. The result was a 10-1 thrashing as the two clubs opened their Okanagan division semifinal.

The Chiefs’ top line was in fine form in Game 1. Brody Dale scored three times and set up four other goals, Lane Paddison added three goals and Zach Erhardt contributed five assists.

Combined, the high-flying trio amassed 16 points and gave fits to the goaltending duo of Daniel Paul — who survived 47 minutes — and Bailey Monteith, who turned in 13 minutes of shutout hockey. Combined, they faced 52 shots. Kelowna’s potent power play was also rolling — the Chiefs scored on five of nine opportunities; the Yotes, meanwhile, were zero-for-five.

The lone bright spot for the club was Milo Labonte’s goal 13 minutes into the second period, when the Coyotes were already down 5-0.

Kelowna led 3-0 after 20 minutes of play and 6-1 after 40. Paul was pulled after the Chiefs reeled off four more goals over the opening six minutes of the final frame.

Games 3 and 4 go Friday and Saturday nights, 7:45 p.m. at Sun Bowl Arena.

POSSE 7, STEAM 6 (OT): Azam Jiwa scored at 12:36 of the first overtime period as Princeton took the series opener in Summerland. Game 2 of the series was to be played Wednesday.

Terrance Josephson paced the Posse with two goals and two assists while Trevor Gulenchyn, Ethan Schmor, Colby Rhodes and Aubrey MacLeod also con- nected. Lance French, Liam McLaren, Cory Loring, Cody Swan, Linden Gove and Mitchell Gove replied for the Steam.

The Steam led 2-1 after one period, but the Posse came back to take the lead 4-3 after 40 minutes. Steam starter Jared Breitkreuz was replaced after surrendering four goals on eight shots, with Eric Scherger coming on to give up three more on 15 shots.

The Steam rallied to take the lead 5-4 in the third period but Josephson tied the game with 5:52 left on a power play.

Jaysen MacLean made 24 saves for Princeton.

Five other series-openers were played Tuesday with the home team winning each one. Revelstoke clubbed Kamloops 10-2 and 100 Mile House topped Sicamous 3-1; Kimberley whipped Golden 6-1 and Fernie edged Columbia Valley 4-3; and Nelson edged Spokane 3-2.

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