The Revelstoke Grizzlies staved off elimination with a thrilling 4-3 overtime win over the Sicamous Eagles Thursday night at the Revelstoke Forum.
Michael Roberts scored the winner with a power play goal 34 seconds into overtime to give Revelstoke the win and push the best-of-seven series to a sixth game.
Sicamous got on the board first after Revelstoke goaltender Ethan Wood misplayed the puck behind the net. Brendan Devries passed the loose puck to Connor Fynn, who scored in the open net.
Tye Sanford evened the score with 2:09 left in the period after a strong shift by his line ended when Jordan Bledsoe set up Sanford in the left circle. Sanford fired a wrist shot past Sicamous goalie Kris Drott.
The second period featured end-to-end action. Marc Letourneau gave Revelstoke the lead when Andrew Standish sent him in on a breakaway. Letourneau deked to his backhand and lifted the puck past a sprawling Drott.
Sicamous responded not long after when Connor Buick found a loose puck at the side of the Grizzlies net and squeezed it past a sprawling Wood.
Revelstoke regained the lead with just over five minutes left in the period when Reid Blinkhorn fired home a rebound to make it 3-2. The goal came just after Sicamous killed off a Revelstoke power play.
In the third period Revelstoke pushed to extend its lead but Drott continued his strong play in the series, making 23 saves. His work paid dividends when Fynn scored his second of the night to tie the game at three.
Wood, who was shaky at times in net, came up big late in the third when he stopped Steven Powers on a breakaway.
Then, with 45 seconds left in regulation, Sicamous' Connor Buick got called for high sticking when he took down Roberts in front of the Sicamous net. Sicamous killed off the first 45 seconds of the power play to send the game to overtime but Revelstoke kept up its pressure in the extra frame until Roberts fired home a one-timer through Drott's legs to give Revelstoke the win.
The series continues with game six Friday night in Sicamous. Game seven, if necessary, is Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Revelstoke Forum.
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Give us your feedback. What will the Revelstoke Grizzlies need to do tonight to take the win in game 6 and bring the series back to Revelstoke?