Three Whitehorse hockey players are turning heads with the Summerland Steam this season.

In their first two games together as a forward line, Wyatt Gale, Jarrett Malchow and Riley Pettitt have led the Jr. B hockey team in the Okanagan to back-to-back victories.

The trio – dubbed the “Yukon Connection” by Steam broadcaster Tim Hogg – found instant chemistry when reunited by coach John DePourcq on Sunday.

With Pettitt at centre, and Gale and Malchow on the wings, the line has dominated in wins over the Fernie Ghostriders and North Okanagan Knights.

The team is now 4-1 to start the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) season.

Gale spent the first three games in the stands, serving out a suspension he incurred for a check-from-behind in his last game with the Northeast B.C. and Yukon Midget Trackers.

Reunited for the first time Sunday against the Ghostriders, Pettitt set up Gale for Summerland’s third goal in a 3-1 win.

Then versus the Knights Wednesday, Gale opened the scoring and Pettitt closed it during another 3-1 victory.

The all-Yukon line finished with six points between them and twice heard their names announced in succession over the PA system after goals.

“It’s fun playing with people from your hometown,” said Malchow, 18. “It’s really cool.”

The scenario was first discussed at the Arctic Winter Games in Fairbanks last March, Pettitt explained.

“We kind of joked around about it when we were playing in Arctics,” he said. “They told me about Summerland and I was like ‘Can you imagine if we went to a junior camp and they signed all three of us?’ ... We just laugh about it now.”

Playing together as the Yukon’s top line in Fairbanks, Gale and Pettitt finished the tournament one-two in scoring on the way to a bronze medal.

Gale totalled 15 points and Pettitt had 14, while Malchow had eight.

The trio was invited to attend the Steam’s spring camp, alongside fellow Yukoners Kole Comin and Craig Berube, and immediately made an impression.

Now, the goal is to rack up points, impress Jr. A scouts and land scholarships, said Pettitt, who spent last season playing Major Midget with the Prince George Cariboo Cougars.

“We’re definitely getting opportunities to score, so I think if we keep playing the way we do, we’re going to start burying lots ... help contribute to the team and have fun doing it,” the centreman said.

While Pettitt is billeting with the Steam’s goalie in nearby Penticton, Gale and Malchow are roommates on a Summerland farm.

Malchow said the line’s early-season success is the result of many years of playing together with the Whitehorse Mustangs.

Malchow and Gale also spent last season together with Trackers.

With plenty of fresh faces on the Steam roster this season, it will take some time for other lines to find their chemistry, Malchow said.

“I think it’s been a lot easier for us since we’ve played a few years together,” he said. “We kind of have the feel for where each other are on the ice.”

Gale, also 18, said Jr. B has proved to be a solid choice for the trio. The 52-game season will feature plenty of road trips throughout B.C. and Washington.

“The guys are faster and a lot bigger and stronger, but it’s not that big of a jump,” he said.

The Northerners have been sharing plenty of tales about the Yukon so far.

“Everyone asks us how cold it is up there,” Gale chuckled. “Being away from home with everyone knowing you’re from the Yukon and having success, it’s a lot of fun.”

Steam owner and general manager Gregg Wilson said the three Yukon boys have been a welcome addition to the team, which entered the KIJHL as an expansion franchise three years ago.

After struggling through its first two seasons, the Steam won the Okanagan Division last year, before dropping a seven-game first-round playoff series with the Knights.

“They fit the personality mold of our team,” Wilson said of the Yukon trio. “They’re great kids. We are very lucky to have them. It’s worked out really, really well.

“They’re definitely top-six forwards for us,” he said. “We decided to put all the Whitehorse kids on the same line ...

Every game they’re just getting better and better.

“We’ll get more kids from up there in the future,” Wilson added.

While Pettitt was the main target, Wilson said he was elated to have Gale and Malchow emerge as solid scoring additions.

Pettitt is also an alternate player with the Jr. A Penticton Vees, Wilson said.

As for the other Whitehorse players at the Steam camp, Berube went on to make the Notre Dame Jr. A Hounds while Comin failed to make the club.

Instead, Comin is reportedly spending this season playing Midget hockey in Dawson Creek with fellow Yukoners Jack Blisner and Levi Johnson.