Andy Siegel
Special to the Review
The Revelstoke Grizzlies won their second last game of the season last night (Feb. 10) with an authoritative 7–1 win over the Summerland Steam.
With just one game left for the Grizzlies, they’re on top of the Doug Birks Division of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) with 65 points. Having already clinched a spot in the playoffs, the closest team to the Grizzlies in the division is the Kamloops Storm, who sit at 55 points on the year.
At the 15:25 mark of the first period, Revelstoke local Kurtis Kinoshita, squeezed his way in front of the net to shoot the puck past the Steam goaltender to open the scoring. Owen Chamberland and Cole Gartner assisted on the goal.
Just 23 seconds into the second period, Grizzlies newcomer Curtis Cawte, grabbed a loose puck and rifled it to the back of the net, making it 2-0. Less than two-minutes later, Ethan Mattern made it 3-0, assisted by Brady Augot and Colton McLeod.
Later in the period, Chamberland found the back of the net to make it 4-0. McLeod scored late in the period to make it 5-0.
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In the third period, Chamberland scored his second of the night as Revelstoke made it a 7–1 lead.
“On my first goal, Luke Aston drew the goalie across the crease plus also pulled their defenceman in too, creating tons of net to shoot at,” said McLeod. “On my second goal, Daniel Wittenburg had good entry into the zone with speed, then made a nice move resulting in a far pad shot, which gave me an easy tap in for the score.”
After his three-point night, Chamberland said “we’re trying to dial it in and focus more on the details as playoffs approach.”
The Grizzlies play the Osoyoos Coyotes again tonight at the Revelstoke Forum. Tonight’s game is the last of the regular season for the Grizzlies. Puck drops at 7 p.m.