Andy Siegel
Special to the Review
On Tuesday (Jan. 17) night, the Revelstoke Grizzlies were involved in a heated divisional rivalry match-up against the Kamloops Storm, and the home team got off to a hot start.
Less than three minutes in, Revelstoke’s leading scorer Carter Bettenson stuffed the puck into the net on a wraparound to put the home team up 1-0. Assist on the goal went to Will McPhee.
With around 10 minutes left in the first, Grizzlies forward David Coyle released a perfect wrist shot into the upper left corner of the net for the 2-0 lead. Assist on the goal went to Will McPhee for his second helper of the evening.
Revelstoke goalie Owen Albers was on top of his game all night, keeping the puck out of the net in the opening period on a five-on-three power play for the Storm.
A home-team power play near the end of the first period resulted in another Grizzlies goal, this time scored by Kesler Fyfe. 3-0 Revelstoke.
The flurry of goals in the first period would end up being too much for the Storm to come back from, and the game ended in a 4-1 Grizzlies win.
Bettenson’s two-point performance added to his already-impressive point total, with 38 points on the season so far.
“I’ve been practicing my snapshot lately to get that quick release,” said Bettenson in a post-game interview. “The team has been working a lot on zone entries in practice which helps build our confidence in bringing the puck up the ice.”
“Ryan Parent is the best coach I’ve ever skated for,” added Bettenson. “He pushes guys to play their hardest. We don’t want to let him down”.
The win gives the Grizzlies a strong hold on first place in the Doug Birks division, and now hold an eight-point lead over the second place Sicamous Eagles with nine games left this season.
“I feel confident seeing us going up on every game during the back half,” said Grizzlies captain McPhee. “Our group is even better this year. We don’t want a freebie in the Cyclone Cup when we host the event, we’re determined to win it.”
The Revelstoke Forum will fill with fans again on Friday (Jan. 20) when the Revelstoke Grizzlies play host to the Grand Forks Border Bruins.
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READ MORE: Revelstoke Grizzlies look for revenge against division rivals on Tuesday night
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