The Revelstoke Grizzlies lost two out of three games last week and fell slightly further behind the big three in its division on the road to the playoffs.
The Grizzlies (14-17-0-1)* lost 3-2 to the 100 Mile House Wranglers (18-9-3-5) and 5-1 to the Chase Heat (22-8-1-2) – the two losses sandwiching an overtime win over the Kamloops Storm (17-11-1-5).
Last Monday, Jan. 2, the Grizzlies kicked off the new year with an afternoon game in 100 Mile House against the Wranglers.
The Grizzlies traveled to 100 Mile a day early so they could be well rested before the game. They started strong with a goal by Jon Vandermolen 2:37 into the first. The Wranglers tied the game with a power play with 7:19 left in the opening frame.
Revelstoke got the lead back five minutes into the second period when Vandermolen potted his second of the game with help from Tyler Chavez Leech and Bradley Newans.
100 Mile came back, with Justin Bond scoring at the halfway mark and Colton Thomas scoring a power play goal with 3:04 left in the second to give their team a 3-2 lead.
Revelstoke fired 10 shots on the Wranglers net in the third period but were unable to tie the game.
On Friday, the Grizzlies played the first of many January home games when they hosted a thriller against the Kamloops Storm.
The Storm jumped the gun in the first period, getting a goal from Dallas Otto only 14 seconds into the game. It took two periods for the Grizzlies to tie things, with Daniel Fisher evening the score 1:09 into the third period. Matthew Monk and Giovanni Sambrielaz picked up assists.
The game went into overtime tied 1-1 despite the teams combining for 68 shots in regulation. There, 16-year-old rookie Dylan McNeil played the hero, scoring with a wicked wrister that knocked the water bottle off the net on a penalty shot with 1:42 left in the second overtime. Check out the video of the goal by Shawn Filipchuk above.
On Saturday, the Grizzlies hosted the division-leading Chase Heat. It was a close game that was decided in a 2.5 minute span of the second period during which Cory Loring, Michael Fidanza and Ryan Okino scored for Chase, giving them a 3-0 lead after two periods.
Jordan Rae scored an unassisted goal on the power play at 13:17 of the third period to get the Grizzlies within two, but Chase was able to restore it's three goal lead less than a minute later. The Heat added an empty netter to make the final score 5-1.
The Grizzlies remain at home for two games this weekend. They host the Sicamous Eagles on Friday and the Kamloops Storm on Saturday. On Tuesday, they hit the road to play the Chase Heat.
* Indicates the team's record as of Monday, Jan. 9.