Andy Siegel
Special to the Review
There’s not been any new snow in town for over 10 days to tire boarders & skiers out so Tuesday night a very energetic home crowd showed up to support the Grizzlies.
Throughout the game the energy kept increasing in the Forum, growing into the loudest fans of the season, unusual for a Tuesday night. Part of the reason for this was a competition between the Grizzlies British lads (always dependable for their variety of chants and songs) sounding off against a jubilant crew of guys from Vancouver in town celebrating a stag party in the next section over.
Revelstoke called up three affiliate players for this contest so it would be interesting to see how these new kids fit in with the team.
Despite their lower place in the KIJHL standings, the Summerland Steam came out flying in the first period playing a very fast-paced game to challenge the Grizzlies.
At 12:05 the referee called a very soft penalty on the Steam for cross-checking. Brody Elchyson barely pushed Caleb West in front of the net after the whistle blew but was sent off the ice for 2 minutes.
Six seconds into the power play Carter Bettenson was fed at the point by Brady Augot & Adam Lemieux where he rifled a perfect wrist shot into the upper left corner of the net for a 1-0 Revelstoke lead.
With just over a minute to go in the first, a Summerland defenceman made a crucial mistake of missing clearing the puck from the Steam zone. On a terrific fore-checking effort Revelstoke’s Collin Kozijn scooped it up, skated across the crease right to left and patiently waited till the Steam goalie dropped to the ice giving him a window to snap the puck into the top of the net.
Shots after one period were 22-10 in favour of Revelstoke.
With 8:50 left in the 2nd period, Revelstoke received back-to-back penalties, including a five-minute infraction for checking from behind, giving Summerland a golden chance to get back in the game.
The Steam then received a penalty of their own, greatly reducing the opportunity to slice the lead in half which they failed to do.
One reason for the fantastic penalty kill and why the Grizzlies have been so tough to score against all season is blocking shots. These kids have no hesitation in putting their bodies on the line when it comes to defending their zone.
Austin Wooley, one of the new affiliates, made his impact felt with 90 seconds left in the 2nd period. He put a solid clean shoulder check on a Summerland player in the Grizzlies zone knocking him off his feet. It was the hardest check of the game.
Less than two minutes into the final period the Steam got the break they were looking for all night.
Grayson Chell was camped out on the side of the goal where he jumped on a loose rebound enabling him to shoot the puck into the open net.
At 5:40 Revelstoke’s Porter Trevelyan was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty which opened the door for Summerland to tie the game.
Once again the Grizzlies outstanding penalty kill denied their opponents, keeping it a one-goal lead for the home team.
Grizzlies goaltender Jozef Kuchaslo played an excellent game all night holding the Steam to just one puck in the net. He may be the backup on Revelstoke’s team but is so talented would probably be the number one on many teams in the KIJHL.
Overall it was an outstanding effort by Summerland coming to the Forum only allowing 2 goals until the end of the game when the wheels fell off their wagon. The Steam proved they are a solid tough team who could be a challenge to any opponents in the playoffs.
Collin Kozijn sealed the victory grabbing a loose puck in front of the Steam goal on the left side snapping it into the upper left roof of the net for his second of the evening.
Seconds later before the Forum crowd was even finished celebrating Colin Kozijn made another amazing play for his third point of the evening. Skating down the left side with his incredible speed he waited till almost getting to the goal line then fed the puck on a beautiful pass to Jacob Smith who snapped it into the net.
An open net goal by Owen Chamberland at 19:28 was the icing on the cake. Grizzlies take the penultimate game of the season 5-1.
Final shots were 47-29 advantage for the Grizzlies.
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@josh_piercey
josh.piercey@revelstokereview.com
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