The Revelstoke Grizzlies came from behind to defeat the Sicamous Eagles 4-3 in their season-opener on Saturday.
The Grizzlies were on the road to take on their Eagle Pass rivals to start the season. With an almost completely new lineup – only two players from last year's team dressed for the game – it was a chance to see how this team is looking.
"I thought we competed hard for a good portion of that game," said coach Ryan Parent. "You have to give our guys credit for not panicking and hanging in there. The first few minutes of the game were a little edgy, but I think we battled pretty hard to get a good result in the end."
Revelstoke fell behind early on when Eric Austin scored for the Eagles 94 seconds into the first period. The deficit was erased 10 minutes later when Zach Paxman scored his first goal as a Grizzly. Vernon-native Jeff Bochon scored almost four minutes later to give Revelstoke the lead heading into the second.
The Eagles came out strong in the middle period, tying the game less than three minutes in. Austin, a Revelstoke native, scored his second of the game with just under five minutes left in the frame to put Sicamous up 3-2.
Down by one, Revelstoke stepped it up in the third, throwing 12 shots at the Sicamous net. However, it took almost 16 minutes for them to score, when Steven Fiust scored on the power play to tie the game. Carter Huber put Revelstoke up 4-3 53 seconds later and goalie Michael Lenko shut the door the rest of the game to let Revelstoke leave Sicamous with the win.
"It wasn't a clean crisp game structurally for us, but for a young group to battle hard and come out with a W in the third after being down shows you got character," said Parent.
He said he was happy with the effort from every line and with the way the team moved the puck through the neutral zone. He said this week they'll be working on structure and making sure they compete for a full 60 minutes.
It's a busy weekend for the Grizzlies as they play three games at home. On Friday, the Eagles come to town for the Grizzlies home opener. On Friday, the Chase Heat come to the Forum and on Sunday, Revelstoke takes on the Grand Forks Border Bruins in a 4 p.m. matinee.