The Revelstoke Grizzlies won two out of three games on the weekend, with overtime wins over Kelowna and Kamloops at home on Friday and Saturday, followed by a loss in Kamloops on Sunday.
"I thought we played well in all three games actually," said coach Ryan Parent. "I think it shows that we have the ability to win tight hockey games. I thought especially the first two games, I thought we more or less controlled the play and played our system. I thought we were effective."
On Friday, Revelstoke hosted the Kelowna Chiefs at the Forum. Jackson Fulton put Revelstoke up 1-0 with a power play goal midway through the first, and Griffin Fried made it 2-0 Grizzlies before the period was up.
The teams were scoreless in the second, but Kelowna got within one early in the third. The teams went back-and-forth for the next 10 minutes, until Ullar Wiatzka netted his first ever KIJHL goal to make it 3-1 Grizzlies with 6:25 left.
Unfortunately, Revelstoke saw their two goal cushion evaporate when Kelowna scored twice in the final six minutes to send the game to overtime.
Revelstoke found themselves on the power play to start overtime. Playing a man up, Brady Mende was the hero for Revelstoke, firing home a backhand from the slot 47 seconds into overtime.
On Saturday, Revelstoke hosted the conference-leading Kamloops Storm in a game that nearly mirrored Friday's game. Once again, Revelstoke jumped out to a two goal lead, only to see it fade away before winning in OT.
Kyle Berry and Ethan Waitzner scored in the first for the Grizzlies, while Dario Piva and Keaton Gordon scored in the second for the Storm.
The third period was scoreless, and it was Nicholas Higgs, with his first goal of the season, who gave Revelstoke the win when he scored 3:23 into overtime.
On Sunday, the two teams were back at it in Kamloops. Kole Cornin scored on the powerplay to give the Storm a 1-0 lead after one, but Berry tied it up for the Grizzlies 6.5 minutes into the second.
Kamloops added two more before the second was over and shut down Revelstoke the rest of the way to skate away with a 3-1 win.
This weekend the Grizzlies head to the Cariboo for two games against the 100 Mile House Wranglers before they head home for Christmas. The Grizzlies sit nine points back of the Chase Heat with one game in hand for third place in the division. 100 Mile is 15 points up on Revelstoke, with three more games played.
"We had a bit of a meeting at the halfway point and as a team, collectively, we want to better and more consistent in our play," said Parent. "Anybody who watched our first two games at home, I thought our structure was good. I think we're playing the right way."