The Revelstoke Grizzlies had an up-and-down week, starting with a dominant win over the Sicamous Eagles before splitting two weekend games with the Princeton Posse.
The week started on Wednesday, Sept. 28, in Sicamous. To say Revelstoke dominated the game is an understatement. The Grizzlies outshot the Eagles 67-12, including a 31 shot second period, as they cruised their way to an easy win 5-1 win over their Eagle Pass rivals.
Zac McKee, Ullar Wiatzka, Michael Lenoury, Raphael Bassot and Jordan Rae scored for the Grizzlies, while Curtis Belbin, Daniel Fisher and Ryan Pereverzoff each picked up two assists. Bassot, Lenoury and Wiatzka had two-point games and Giovanni Sambrielaz had an easy game in nets, giving up one goal on 11 shots. Max Gaudet stopped 62 of 67 shots for the Eagles.
On Friday, the Grizzlies played host to the Princeton Posse. The game started slow, with no scoring until Rae opened things for Revelstoke with a power play goal 57 seconds left in the period. The lead was short-lived, with Trystyn Olson tying the game only 30 seconds later.
The second period was scoreless but Princeton burst the game open less than three minutes into the third period when Owen Reith scored on the power play. Chad Kimmie made it 3-1 Posse five minutes later and Owen Hart scored the clincher on a 5-on-3 power play with 3:26 left in the third.
On Saturday, the two teams boarded the Upper Arrow Lakes Ferry on their way to a rematch in Nakusp. If the Grizzlies were looking to send a message after Friday’s poor third period, they succeeded thanks to four power play goals.
Rae scored twice, and McKee, Wiatzka and Belbin added goals to give Revelstoke a 5-0 lead by the end of the second period. The Posse scored twice in the third period and had one goal called back, but the Grizzlies held on for a 5-2 win. Rae and Jon Vandermolen each had two assists.
The Grizzlies welcomed Tyler Chavez Leech back to the lineup after a season in Junior A, though he didn't play last week. He returned for his final junior season after playing for the Melville Millionaires of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League last year.
The win boosted the Grizzlies record to 4-3, good for third place in the Doug Birks Division, with a game in hand on the other four teams in the division.
The Grizzlies have a light schedule in the coming weeks. This Friday, Oct. 7, they hit the road for a game against the Kamloops Storm. Then, they don’t play again until Saturday, Oct. 15, when they host the Summerland Steam. Summerland beat the Grizzlies 5-3 on Sept. 16.