By Kevin Kraus, Revelstoke Grizzlies Assistant Coach
In Kamloops on Friday night the top two teams in the Doug Birks Division went head to head in a spirited battle, which saw both clubs’ goalies steal the show. The Revelstoke Grizzlies opened the scoring against the Kamloops Storm in the first period with a beautiful display of passing on the power play with Marc Letourneau capitalizing on a wide open net. The Storm came back near the end of the
first period getting goals from Chase Edwards and Brett Dallen at 3:24 and 2:06 mark of the period.
Kamloops opened the scoring in the second with a goal from their top line at the 18:58 mark, taking 3-1 advantage. The Grizzlies would not roll over and give up though. They battled back, getting power play goals from 16-year-olds Michael Roberts and Cole Sanford. Netminders Lyndon Stanwood and Ethan Wood kept the lid on scoring for both teams.
The third period started off with the division rivals trading scoring chances; the difference came down to power plays. Storm goaltender Lyndon Stanwood made an amazing save on a Braeden Monk, getting across the net and got his stick in the way of the puck.
Kamloops finished the period with two power play goals to win 5-3.
Saturday night’s contest between the Fernie Ghostriders and the Revelstoke Grizzlies started out as a high-intensity and physical game which saw Fernie taking advantage of some of the Grizzlies’ smaller players. The Ghostriders got a little too physical and took some penalties for it. The Grizzlies made them pay, scoring two power play goals by Braeden Monk and Cole Sanford. The period ended 2-0 for the Grizzlies.
The second period was a hard checking, physical affair during which chances were at a premium. Both teams seemed to be throwing everything they had at each other. In the end it was the Grizzlies who scored again. Marc Letourneau scored from the slot on a great pass from Michael Roberts.
The Ghostriders came out flying in the third, scoring a goal in the first minute of the period. Fernie got another goal on the power play at the 12:37 mark. It seemed as if the fans and the Grizzlies were back on their heels trying to save the game. The Ghostriders threw everything they had at the Ethan Wood, but the Grizzlies starting goaltender came up huge making some game-saving saves late in the match. The fans ended up getting their money’s worth watching one of the most exciting games this year at the Forum seeing the Grizzlies take home a 3-2 victory against the Fernie Ghostriders.