Andy Siegel
Special to the Review
The Revelstoke Grizzlies completed a sweep of a back to back home and away weekend series against their Kelowna Chiefs rivals with a dominating 4-1 win on Saturday night at the Revelstoke Forum.
With just a select few homes games in the fall months, a solid crowd of 850 fans filled the arena to support their 2023 Cyclone Cup winning home team in a Saturday night bout of Kootenay International Junior Hockey League action.
Midway through the first period, Luke Aston skated in on the left side of the key where he released a quick shot roofing the puck into a tight opening on the upper side of the net for an unassisted goal at 8:53, opening the scoring for Revelstoke.
Shortly after the goal, there was a collision from a Grizzlies player in the visiting crease that knocked the Chiefs goalie off his skates, resulting in an odd man rush for Kelowna. The play culminated with a quick low shot on the ice to the left side at 11:16 by Aiden Morcom which found it’s way into the back of the net tying the score at 1-1.
With 3:13 left in the first, Luke Aston raced out in front of a Chiefs defenceman beating him to the puck. Going in on a semi breakaway from the left side, Aston released a hard wrist shot that found its way under the goaltender’s elbow pad for his second unassisted goal, returning the lead to the Grizzlies before the intermission.
With 13:04 left in the second period, a Chiefs player ran a Grizzly forward from behind resulting in a charging infraction. On the ensuing power play, Revelstoke combined for a three player scoring opportunity from Andrew Morris and Hudson Scrimshaw to Kuy Schmirler who released a shot from the left side of the net that floated in for the 3-1 home team lead.
At 7:06, a Kelowna forward came down the far right side of the ice, flipping the puck over a Grizzly stick to create a chance for a Chiefs player to shoot it. The shot went in, but as the Chiefs cheered and the home crowd booed, the ref and linesmen huddled to discuss the play, resulting in the goal being disallowed.
The Grizzlies’ scoreless third period was capped off on an empty net goal with just four seconds left by an assist from Brady Schwab to Luke Aston, giving him the well deserved hat trick.
The Grizzlies next game is on the road on Friday (Oct. 27), facing off against the Summerland Steam at 7:30 p.m. in the Summerland Arena.
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