The Princeton Posse has secured the division title of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s (KIJHL) Ohlhausen Division, with still two weeks to go in the regular season.
It is only the second time in the team’s 20-year history the Posse have won the division, which head coach Mark Readman called satisfying.
“Our guys have been working pretty darned hard and obviously doing things the right way as we’ve gone through the season,” he said.
With one milestone met, Princeton has its sights now set on the President’s Cup, awarded to the top team in the league.
After back-to-back victories on the weekend, the Posse remained first overall in the KIJHL, three points ahead of the second-place Columbia Valley Rockies and with a game in hand.
“It’s four games left chasing that President’s Trophy here in the next two weeks. At this point, we are well on our way but clinching the Bill Ohlhausen Division is just great,” said Readman.
Last Friday, Princeton soundly thumped Chase Heat 7-1, outshooting their opponents 50 to 21.
The following night, the Posse took on the Kamloops Storm, who brought an aggressive game to the Princeton and District Arena.
Readman credited netminder Nate Glenn as a key factor in that win.
“Nate played two really strong games, especially Saturday night.
“He came up big and he came up with some big saves…
“At the end of the day he gave us a really good chance to win.”
Glenn also recorded an uncommon point for an assist, on an empty goal scored by Curtis Gould in the third period.
A second anomaly Saturday night was the disparity in penalties.
Kamloops on the wrong side of nine whistles, racking up 52 minutes in penalties, including two 10-minute misconducts against players and 20 minutes for a gross bench misconduct.
By comparison Princeton had one two-minute penalty for charging.
Readman said those are “pretty rare” statistics, adding it reflected how his Posse skaters were “keeping their composure and being disciplined and playing between the whistles.”
The imbalance created opportunities for Princeton’s special teams, with two goals earned on the power play.
The Posse is on the road this weekend, facing Summerland on Friday, Feb. 3, and Grand Forks on Saturday, Feb. 4.
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