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Entrenched comfortably in third place in the Okanagan Division of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, the Kelowna Chiefs have to be somewhat uneasy about their lack of success against the second-place Summerland Steam.
A 5-2 loss to the Steam on Sunday in which the Chiefs were held to a season-low 15 shots, was the fourth consecutive defeat at the hands of the South Okanagan representatives— Kelowna’s likely opponent in the first-round of the KIJHL playoffs next month.
Coming off a 6-3 win over the division’s last-place Princeton Posse at the Rutland Arena on Saturday, the Chiefs’ only two goals on Sunday came on the powerplay — Jonathan Lee and Josh Kobelka doing the honours in the first and second periods respectively.
Meanwhile, the Steam got goals from Josh Pilon, Riley Pettitt and Jack Mills in a 3-1 first period and a pair of tallies from Paulsen Lautard, one in the second period and the other in the third.
The Steam (45 points), in widening their lead over the Chiefs to six points with a game in hand, controlled the game from start to finish. The hosts peppered Kelowna goaltender Joshua Tetlichi with 18 shots in the first period and went on to finish with 37 shots overall.
On Saturday, the Chiefs handled Princeton — last place in the Okanagan Division with 18 points — with relative ease after a 2-2 first period in which Kelsey Byrne and Luke Kalenuik sandwiched goals between the Posse’s Bailey Shaver (powerplay) and Connor Harding, a West Kelowna Minor Hockey Association product.
Lee and Josh Baird (PP) added Kelowna goals in the second period, countering the one by Princeton Sean Emmerson, while Kobelka and captain Ryan Lawson rounded out the Chiefs’ scoring in the third.
The hosts outshot the Posse 45-29, with Brady Lenardon earning the goaltending win with his 26 saves. Stephen Heslop took the loss.
Back in action on Wednesday in Osoyoos against the Okanagan Division’s first-place Coyotes, the Chiefs will then have an unusual 10-day break before they meet the North Okanagan Knights in Armstrong on Jan. 16. Their next home game isn’t until Jan. 20 when they play host to Princeton again.
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