The Chase Heat are comfortably in second place in the KIJHL’s Doug Birks Division as the season winds down.
A win over the Osoyoos Coyotes will help keep them there.
The Heat beat the Coyotes by a convincing 9-4 margin in front of the home crowd at Chase’s Art Holding Memorial Arena on Jan. 31. The home team owned the opening period; they scored twice before the Coyotes put a goal on the board and then capped the period off by scoring again to put the score at 3-1 after 20 minutes.
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Both teams put up two goals in the middle period, keeping the Heat up by a comfortable 5-3 margin heading into the third period.
The Coyotes put another goal on the board early in the third, but then the home team ran away with game, adding four more goals to send the Osoyoos squad packing.
On Saturday, Feb. 1, the Heat travelled to Revelstoke to take on the division’s top team, the Grizzlies. The Revelstoke squad lived up to their fearsome 33-5-1 record against the Heat. Chase managed a pair of power-play goals in the first and second period but otherwise the score sheet was all Grizzlies resulting in an 8-2 final score.
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With only three weekends left in the regular season, the Heat sit more than 10 points ahead of the third-place 100 Mile House Wranglers. The first-place Grizzlies are 17 points ahead of the Heat with six games remaining, meaning that at the top of the division at least, the playoff picture is set.
The Heat will spend the coming weekend on a South Okanagan road trip, beginning with another tilt versus the Coyotes, followed by a game against the Summerland Steam. Chase has split their games with the Steam and Coyotes so far this season, winning one and losing another against each team.
jim.elliot@saobserver.net
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