The North Okanagan Knights can’t
buy a break at the Revelstoke Forum.
Threatening to rally after trailing
by three goals early, the Knights lost
all momentum when the Grizzlies’
Braden Seyl netted a rink-long fluttering
wrister that took a bizarre
bounce in front of netminder Dustin
Nikkel as he went out to play the
puck. The shorthanded marker stood
as the winner as Revelstoke iced the
North Okanagan 6-4 in front of 250
Kootenay International Junior Hockey
League fans Saturday night.
“It’s almost like we’re cursed in that
building,” said Knights’ head coach
Kris Mallette.
“We battled hard to make it 4-3
and to have that one go in the way it
did, it kind of took the wind out of
our sails.”
The Knights (16-9-0-1), who trail
the Grizz (18-5-0-1) by four points
in the Doug Birks Division, entertain
Revelstoke in a rematch tonight at
Nor-Val Sports Centre. They visit the
Kelowna Chiefs (11-14-0-1) Friday at
Rutland Arena.
With defenceman John Saunders
called up to the BCHL Vernon Vipers,
the Knights dressed just four blueliners
Saturday night.
Singles by Kyle Schwartz, Seyl and
Braeden Monk had Revelstoke up by
three in the first period.
The Grizzlies’ Devon Hascarl, a
Vernon product who has five points
in six games with the BCHL Westside
Warriors, finished with four assists.
Tye Sanford, another Vernon native,
had one.
“Hascarl has been playing really
well for us,” said Kevin Kraus, a firstyear
assistant coach with Revelstoke
and former Viper captain. “He’s trying
his best to stay up there (in Westside),
and every time he comes back, he
seems to play better and better for us.”
A late shorty by Armstrong’s Brett
Hawrys, assisted by Ryan Scheidt and
Eric Chore, cut into the lead before the
first intermission.
Schwartz restored the Grizzlies’
three-goal lead before singles by
Tanner Burns and Chore cut the lead
to one.
“They came back and it ended up
being a real good game. We’re starting
a pretty good divisional rivalry here,”
said Kraus.
Singles by Revelstoke’s Braeden
Monk and North Okanagan’s Bryce
Koch (after Seyl’s winner), completed
the scoring.
The Knights came into the tilt on
a high after they knocked off the firstplace
Kamloops Storm (23-3-0-2)
Friday, but stumbled out of the gate.
“We beat ourselves,” he said. “The
kids were raring to go, but found ourselves
in the hole early.”
