All three South Okanagan BCHC teams were in action over the weekend to wrap up the preseason as the inaugural BCHC season approaches.
The weekend kicked off on Friday in Osoyoos as the Coyotes hosted the Summerland Jets. Osoyoos scored first thanks to a Quinn Tavender goal on a penalty shot. Both teams added a goal, with Paxton Olsen scoring for the Jets to tie the game before Zack Uphill restored the Coyotes’ lead. The second period saw the Jets score three times as Jacob Selent tied the game and Paxton Olsen added two more to complete his hat trick and give the Jets a 4-2 lead. Izayah Zaharko cut the Jets’ lead to 4-3 with a goal to end the period. The third saw the Coyotes score twice with goals from Taynon Charters and Reid Schmalz to give the Coyotes a 5-4 victory.
That same night, the Princeton Posse hosted the Kamloops Storm. The Posse scored the only goal in the first from Cole Hough to take a 1-0 lead. The second period saw the Posse get goals from Karter Kurpjuweit and Alex Westlund while the Storm scored shorthanded with a goal from Carter Biggs to make the score 3-1 after two periods. The third saw the Posse get a goal from Will Bell while the Storm got goals from Alex Schaub and Ben Filippone before the Posse added an empty-net goal from Alex Westlund to make it a 5-3 final.
The Posse, Jets and Coyotes all played the next day, with Osoyoos hosting Princeton in the first game. The first period between the Coyotes and the Posse saw five goals as Will Bell and Alex Westlund scored for the Posse, while Ollie Reid, Sam Degenstein and Hudson Podollan scored to give the Coyotes a 3-2 lead after the first. The second saw Princeton score a pair as Westlund got his second of the game and Eric Wagman gave the Posse a 4-3 lead after the second. The third saw the Coyotes tie the game with a Julian Galenza goal before Jackson Gush and Ethan Dimand both scored for Princeton to give the Posse a 6-4 win.
The last game of the weekend saw the Jets play host to the Kamloops Storm. Riddick Feely scored an early goal to put the Jets up 1-0 before the Storm got goals from Carter Biggs and Malcolm Anderson to take a 2-1 lead after the first. The second saw the Storm add two more goals as Nicholas Clarke scored twice to put the Storm up by three after two periods. The third saw the Storm add two more goals as Caden Nevokshonoff and Kwentyn Oss handed the Jets a 6-1 loss.
All three teams will open their BCHC regular seasons on Sept. 18 as Osoyoos travels to Summerland to take on the Jets in their first-ever regular-season game and Princeton travels to Merritt for a matchup with the Centennials.
