Three goals on 18 shots resulted in the Summerland Steam dropping a 3-1 decision to the Princeton Posse Saturday.
Cody Swan netted his 18th of the season, 44 seconds into the final frame, while Eric Scherger turned aside 32 of 35 shots at the Summerland Arena.
The loss drops the Steam to 23 wins, 20 losses, two ties and two overtime losses in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. They are comfortably in second place in the Okanagan Division with 50 points. The Posse’s victory improves them to 17-25-1-0-3 with 38 points, one point ahead of the Osoyoos Coyotes with a game in hand. They have clinched a playoff berth.
Ethan Schmoor put the visitors up 1-0 on a power-play tally setup by Azam Jiwa and Achille Casali at 11:06. The Posse received 10 more power-plays but didn’t strike. The Posse’s other goals came courtesy of Aidan Avila and Trevor Gulenchyn.
After being outshot 18-3 in the first period, the Steam outshot the Posse 27-17, but only Swan could solve Jaysen MacLean, who finished with 29 saves. The Steam couldn’t capitalize on six power-play opportunities.
The Steam return to action at the Summerland Arena on Feb. 22 for their final regular season home game against the North Okanagan Knights. They close out the regular season in Osoyoos Feb.23 against the Coyotes.