The Revelstoke Grizzlies pick up another win at home against the Kelowna Chiefs

Andy Siegel

Special to the Review

A packed crowd came out on another cold evening to fill the Revelstoke Forum for Friday’s (Nov. 11) game to watch the Grizzlies trounce the Kelowna Chiefs 7–2.

The Grizzlies, now with a 10–1–2–3 record, picked up another win on Friday. The Grizzlies are in a four-way tie at the top of the table for the Kootenay Interior Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) with 25 points. An early goal from the Grizzlies set the tone for the rest of the game.

At just 17:27, Grizzlies’ Carter Bettenson scooped up a loose puck by the right side of the net and shoved it under the goalies’ pads for the first goal of the night. Assists went to Logan McLeod and Will McPhee.

At 17:45 in the second period, the Grizzlies doubled their lead with a backhand shot from the right side by Luke Aston assisted by Carter Bettenson.

Midway through the second, a Chiefs player broke in on a semi breakaway but was foiled getting off a clean shot by a terrific effort from Daniel Wittenenberg who knocked the puck away on a diving play.

“I saw the Chiefs player breaking out on the turnover and said I’m catching him,” said Wittenberg.

Later in the period, Wittenberg played a backhand pass off the boards to David Coyle who rifled a wrist shot into the upper left corner of the net for a commanding 3–0 lead.

At 5:01, Grizzlies’ Luke Aston took a slap-shot, which found the back of the net for his second goal of the night, making it 4–0.

The barrage by the home squad continued when Brandon Gallo released a shot on a pass from Wittenberg which careened off the Chiefs goalies’ pads. Jake Wallace pounced on the rebound and put it into the net, making it 5-0 for the Grizzlies after two periods.

At 11:58 of the final period, Gage Lajeunesse launched a blind shot from the far-left, sending it floating into the net, making it 6–0. Assists went to Luke Aston and Jake Wallace.

At 9:35, Kelowna’s Parker MacDonald grabbed a loose puck and flipped it into the net to break the shutout.

A few minutes later, the Chiefs’ Aiden Morcom scored their second goal of the game, rushing the net on a quick shot from close range.

With 2:18 left in the game, Grizzlies fan favourite Brandon Gallo poured salt in the Chiefs wound by scoring and extending their lead to 7–2.

The Grizzlies appreciated the atmosphere at the home game.

“The awesome support of the Revelstoke crowd means so much to the guys. We struggled to put the puck in the net on a few of our OT road losses recently. So, it pumped us up when we saw the large crowd coming out of the tunnel to start tonight’s game,” said Gallo.

Grizzlies’ goaltender, Jozef Kuchaslo, had an outstanding game in net stopping 39 of the 41 shots that came his way, helping the Grizzlies secure the win.

The Grizzlies are back in action again tonight (Nov. 12) in Kelowna, playing against the Chiefs at the Rutland Arena. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.

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