No matter the sport, there’s never a good time for an 11-game losing streak.
Especially when you’re trying to clinch a playoff spot.
The situation has become dire for the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s North Okanagan Knights, they of the 11 consecutive defeats including a 4-3 loss to the Chiefs in Kelowna Friday, Feb. 4, and a 4-0 loss in Revelstoke to the Grizzlies Saturday.
North Okanagan is six points behind the Princeton Posse for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Bill Ohlhausen Division. Both teams have six games remaining. If they end up tied, the first tiebreaker is wins and, as of now, the Posse have five more victories than the Knights.
Of the Knights’ six remaining games, all but two are against teams that have already secured a playoff spot. The team that hasn’t – the Summerland Steam, who the Knights will play twice – need only one point in their final seven games to book a post-season berth.
Jozef Kuchaslo made 22 saves for the shutout in Revelstoke while Ronin Pusch scored twice to lead the Grizzlies. Jake Dubinsky made 39 saves in goal for the Knights.
In Rutland, Carter Wiebe’s powerplay goal at 13:34 pulled North Okanagan to within a goal of the Chiefs but could not get the equalizer past Frederick Larochelle, who finished with 27 saves. Gabriel Murrells-Allaway stopped 35 shots in goal for the Knights while Paison Butler and Devyn Jameson (powerplay) supplied the other two goals.
Austin O’Neil scored shootout winners on the road for the Posse Friday and Saturday.
O’Neil’s goal in the fourth round of a shootout Friday was the only puck that crossed the goal line in Princeton’s 1-0 shootout win over the Steam in Summerland.
Goalies Peyton Trzaska of Princeton and Colton Macaulay of Summerland both finished with 25 saves in regulation and overtime.
O’Neil also had the only shootout goal Saturday as the Posse beat the Chiefs 3-2 in Rutland.
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