The Revelstoke Grizzlies had a pair of strong performances over the weekend, with back-to-back wins against the Kamloops Storm and the Chase Heat, respectively.
With the wins over the weekend, Revelstoke have not only punched their ticket to the playoffs but clinched the top spot in the Doug Birks Division of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL). Sitting comfortably at the top of the division, the Grizzlies’ 67-point season puts them level with the Princeton Posse at the top of the KIJHL and one-point clear of the Beaver Valley Nitehawks in third. Friday night’s (Feb. 9) game ended positively for the Grizzlies, but it was the Kamloops Storm that opened the scoring.
Friday (Feb. 9) Kamloops Storm
Devin Benson quieted the 770 attendees at Revelstoke Forum just 1:07 into the first period, claiming the first goal for the Storm. Benson’s goal was assisted by Nathan Bohmer.
The early goal knocked the home team back for several minutes but drew the game level with a tying goal from Jett Patola at 7:08. Patola was assisted by Brady Augot, who wasted no time setting up a second goal for the Grizzlies at 8:52. Augot fed Mikkel Hrechka during a powerplay to get the go-ahead goal.
Nicholas Buckley picked up a third goal for the Grizzlies at 9:21 in the first period, assisted by Jaylen Forsyth, bringing the game to 3–1 for the home team.
David Ander continued the Grizzlies’ momentum in the second period, with a goal at 7:02. The fourth goal for the Grizzlies gave them a comfortable lead for much of the second period until late in the frame when Kamloops came storming back. Ty Horner and Lochlan Stefanishyn scored nearly back-to-back goals at 18:23 and 19:19 to finish the period with just one goal separating the two division rivals.
The final frame was suddenly very close with just a one-goal difference, making for an exciting period of action. At 19:27 with the Kamloops goalie pulled for the man advantage, Revelstoke hammered the final nail in the Storms’ coffin with a last-minute empty net goal.
Saturday (Feb. 10) Chase Heat
Saturday’s game got underway at 7 p.m. against the Chase Heat at the Revelstoke Forum, who are fourth in the Doug Birks Division.
Kuy Schmirler opened the scoring for the home team, assisted by Kaidon Mah and Jett Patola at 12:59 in the first period. Ten seconds later, the Grizzlies doubled their lead with a goal from Brady Augot at 13:09. Augot’s goal was his 11th of the season and was assisted by Daniel Wittenberg for his 10th assist of the season.
At 8:13 of the second period, David Ander picked up his 12th goal of the season, tripling the Grizzlies’ lead.
Cole Whelan broke Revelstoke’s shutout with an unassisted goal for Chase at 17:59 near the end of the second period.
Nathan White scored the Grizzlies’ fourth goal at 6:53 on a powerplay in the third period, assisted by Jake Neufeld.
Chase’s, Cole Whelan, scored his second of the night and fifth goal of the season at 8:16 on a powerplay. Whelan’s score was assisted by Kaleb Preymak and Braeden Huth.
The Grizzlies finished the game with an empty net goal at 18:40, scored by Alexander Bronswyk to bring the score to 5–2.
The Revelstoke Grizzlies have just two more games left in the season, with a double-header against the Sicamous Eagles on Friday (Feb. 16) in Revelstoke and Saturday (Feb. 17) in Sicamous.
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