The Summerland Steam and the Princeton Posse will face off this evening in the first game of division semifinals.
The two Junior B hockey teams are in the Okanagan/Shuwap Conference: Bill Ohlhausen Division of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League.
In regular season hockey action, the Posse finished in second place with 27 wins, 15 losses, one time and five overtime losses.
Summerland, in third place, had a record of 22 wins, 22 losses, one tie and four overtime losses.
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Steam coach Ken Karpuck said the best of seven series should feature some strong hockey action.
“I like the matchup,” he said. “There’s a lot of energy between the teams.”
Karpuck said the Steam has been plagued with sickness and injuries all season and averaged a three-player shortfall each game of the regular season.
Going into the series, the team has just one player on the injured list.
“This is a very capable team,” he said.
He said the strategy going into the series is to work with each moment on the ice.
“One game at a time, one period at a time, one shift at a time,” he said.
The game this evening, at the Princeton and District Arena, begins at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, Feb. 29, the two team will play again in Princeton.
On Monday and Tuesday, the action comes to Summerland as the third and fourth games of the series will be March 2 and 3 at the Summerland Arena. Game time is at 7 p.m. both evenings.
If additional games are required, the schedule calls for the fifth game Thursday, March 5 at 7 p.m. at the Princeton and District Arena; the sixth game Friday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. at the Summerland Arena and the seventh game on Saturday, March 7 at 7 p.m. at the Princeton and District Arena.
The winner of this series will face the winner of a series with the Kelowna Chiefs and the North Okanagan Knights, which also begins this evening.
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