With the month of January behind us, the Chase Heat have five games left in their KIJHL regular season schedule.
After losing to the Kamloops Storm 5-0 on Saturday the 30th, they sit second in the Doug Birks standings.
Kamloops has a six-point lead in first and three games in hand.
Chasing the Heat are the Sicamous Eagles (-2), 100 Mile Wranglers (-5) and Revelstoke Grizzlies (-11).
Other than the Kamloops total team snooze festival, the Heat have been hot in their last 10 with seven wins, two losses and an overtime loss.
The Heat went into the last weekend having come off a 4-3 home-ice win over their closest rival the Eagles.
Tied in the standings, this victory provided a small gap between the two.
Nic Bruyere got his first start between the pipes since Dec. 4 and provided excellent support, stopping 33 of 36. Bruyere’s broken digit is all healed up and he now gives the team a superb trio between the pipes entering the playoffs.
Kaleb Boyle in the first on the power play got his team on the board, assisted by Cody Hodges and Trevor Okino.
In the second, the Heat got two: Hayden Orton from Alex Durbeniuk and Zachary Fournier and then Kolten Moore on the power play from Travis Beaubien and Boyle. In the third, Spencer Farstad scored the game winner from Travis Churchill.
Balanced scoring from throughout the lineup as the first playoff round starts Feb. 20.
Ice Chips:
Next up the Nelson Leafs in Chase on Friday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.
The boys then travel to 100 Mile House for a Saturday night road tilt. Family Day the 9th finds us back in the big city of Kamloops for a 5 p.m. start.
Logan Mostat, Mitchell Walters, Spencer Farstad and Nic Bruyere have all returned to the lineup from injuries, while Braden Hughes and Wesley Matsuda are both hampered by lower body woes and Eric Austin is close to returning from a serious upper body injury.
The players have thoroughly enjoyed the large fan support that has come out recently.