Andy Siegel
Special to the Review
The first full capacity crowd in months packed the Forum for a Family Day holiday weekend KIJHL game against the Sicamous Eagles, the first round playoff opponent for the Revelstoke Grizzlies.
Last Friday night’s game had a yin and yang feeling to it with both teams skating very hard for three competitive periods.
The good news for Revelstoke was the Grizzlies’ great effort in a game that featured tight checking and hard-fought battles in the corners.
Starting goalie Brandon Weare played outstanding saving back-to-back breakaways and only gave up one goal.
The bad news is their opponents also played an outstanding game and seemed to want the win just a bit more, chalking up a 1-0 win.
The visiting Eagles crafted a very smart opening period, neutralizing offensive opportunities, not giving Revelstoke many good-scoring chances.
An interference penalty at 16:23 to Collin Kozjin opened the door for Sicamous to get that all-important first goal with the Grizzlies a hard team to beat this season in their home barn.
At 17:26, the Eagles Sante Canderan capitalized on their hard work with a beautiful pass from the right boards perfectly tipped into the net.
At 4:39 of the second period, a roughing penalty was called on Sicamous but the Eagles continued their stellar defensive effort, holding off the Grizzlies’ push to get on the scoreboard.
Around the six-minute mark, Revelstoke created a solid scoring chance from the left side but it was blocked by Sicamous.
In frustration, a Grizzlie player gave a push from behind inciting a scrum but no penalties were handed out.
Shortly after, on another play in front of the net, the Eagles goalie was knocked off his feet, but Sicamous refused to retaliate playing it smart and avoiding taking a penalty in response.
Another Revelstoke power-play soon after resulted in no goals.
It was looking like points were going to get harder to score as the game got deeper into the second period.
With the shots 21-20 for Revelstoke after two periods, the Grizzlies faced the rare occurrence of entering the third period of a game this season without having scored a goal.
Seventy-five seconds into the final period, an Eagles player landed a hard check to the head of Grizzlies Brandon Gallo, who responded with a clean hit of his own.
As play continued, Sicamous created a breakaway but Weare made a terrific save on the left side to keep it a one-goal game.
Revelstoke would then get a semi-breakaway of its own but could not find the back of the net.
Weare again stood tall in net forcing a Sicamous player to shoot wide for the upper right corner.
The final shots on goal totals were 35-25 for Revelstoke.
It was a hard loss for the Grizzlies that could give Sicamous confidence going into the postseason.
The playoff series begins for the Grizzlies and Eagles on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Forum.
READ MORE: Revelstoke Grizzlies derail Summerland Steam in second last game
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editor@revelstoketimesreview.com
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