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Chase Heat, Sicamous Eagles enter KIJHL post-season with losses

Chase falls 4-3 on home ice to 100 Mile House; Eagles lose 4-2 to the Chiefs in Kelowna; playoffs start Tuesday
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The Chase Heat and Kamloops Storm begin their best-of-seven KIJHL divisional semifinal Tuesday in Kamloops. (KIJHL.ca)

The Chase Heat and Sicamous Eagles enter the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League playoffs on losing notes.

The Heat fell 4-3 on home ice to the 100 Mile House Wranglers Saturday, Feb. 19, while the Eagles lost 4-2 in Kelowna to the Chiefs.

Chase will play the Kamloops Storm in a best-of-seven Bill Ohlhausen Divisional semifinal while the Eagles meet the Revelstoke Grizzlies in the other divisional matchup. Both series start Tuesday, Feb. 22. Sicamous blanked the hometown Grizzlies 1-0 Friday in Revelstoke’s final regular-season contest.

At the Art Holding Memorial Arena, unanswered third-period goals from Ethan Smid and Chase Sitarski, with the winner at 11:08, gave the Wranglers the two points.

Justin Vinterlik, Tanner Chapman (powerplay) and Mikkel Hrechka gave Chase a 3-2 lead entering the third period.

Team MVP Loic Mainguy-Crepault made 35 saves for 100 Mile while Roderic May stopped 22 shots for Chase.

The Heat fell 3-2 in a shootout at home Friday to the North Okanagan Kings, who snapped a 15-game losing streak with the extra point.

In Rutland, the Chiefs scored three times in 2:20 late in the third period to down the Eagles.

After Chaz Sylvestre’s goal at 8:23 of the third gave Sicamous a 2-1 lead, Kelowna got goals from James Hooton at 13:56, Sam Dixon at 14:27, and Hooton again at 16:16 for the two-goal cushion.

Tayce Miller of Sicamous and Patrick Ferrie, on a Kelowna powerplay, exchanged second-period goals.

Jordan Lott made 32 saves for the Eagles while Reed Mclennan stopped 25 shots for the Chiefs, who will play the Summerland Steam in the opening round of the KIJHL playoffs in the Bill Ohlhausen Division.

The other divisional matchup has the regular-season champion Osoyoos Coyotes taking on the fourth-place Princeton Posse. Princeton beat hometown Osoyoos 4-3 Saturday.

• The league has announced the team MVPs for 2021-22.

Jacob Biensch is the Heat’s leading point producer, but what he has done away from the rink, said head coach Brad Fox, has been a “pretty contagious thing for everybody else to be all in.”

“That’s what you need if you are going to have success in the playoffs,” said Fox. “He has taken on a role with a minimal group of veterans. What he has done is elevate everybody’s want and care by putting a lot of pressure on himself to make sure everyone is buying in every single day, 24/7. That’s a tall order. He has done it well.”

Fox said Biensch is “very driven” and “wants the puck all the time” and wants to be involved in everything on the ice.

“He has also been extraordinary in being unselfish towards the common goal,” said Fox.

Hayden Fast has consistently been a top player for the Sicamous Eagles. Head Coach Nick Deschenes said there are players who have elevated their game.

“He has been performing at a level that is higher amongst his peers,” said Deschenes. “He got listed as an affiliate player with the West Kelowna Warriors. There are things part of his game that makes him valuable to our group.”

Since coaching the Eagles, Deschenes has liked that Fast is coachable, works hard, is a good teammate, and does everything – the little things – right.

READ MORE: North Okanagan Knights end KIJHL season with win

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The Sicamous Eagles will face the Revelstoke Grizzlies in the first round of the KIJHL playoffs starting Tuesday, Feb. 22. (KIJHL.ca)