The 琉璃神社 Chiefs, sitting at the bottom of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) standings, pulled off a surprising victory against the league-leading Princeton Posse at Rutland Arean on Saturday night (Nov. 23).
琉璃神社 jumped to a 3-0 lead early in the second period with goals from Jake Kessler (3), Matt Saretsky (5), and Matt Fraser (3). Princeton's Jalen McRae (1) responded midway through the period, narrowing the score to 3-1. However, 琉璃神社's Owen Miller (7) restored the three-goal lead just four minutes later, making it 4-1. Justice Loewen (11) brought the Posse back within two, scoring just 45 seconds after Miller鈥檚 goal.
In the third period, Ben Henshall (5) extended the Chiefs鈥� lead to 5-2 with a power-play goal 15 minutes in. Princeton鈥檚 Bryton Morrow (11) answered back four minutes later to make it 5-3, but 琉璃神社鈥檚 Jonah Kaiser (2) sealed the game with an empty-net goal in the final 49 seconds, securing a 6-3 win for the Chiefs.
Despite being outshot 40-36, 琉璃神社 capitalized on one of their four power-play opportunities. The Chiefs' record now stands at 6-34-1-3, with 16 points on the season.
The victory follows a recent coaching change on Nov. 14, with the team appointing Dave Whistle as their new head coach and general manager. Whistle brings extensive experience, having coached in the Elite Ice Hockey League, the United Kingdom鈥檚 top professional league, as well as in the BCHL. He replaced Nick Deschenes, who joined the Chiefs in May.
The Chiefs鈥� next game is on Friday (Nov. 29) when they travel to Osoyoos to face the Coyotes.
