Chris Stedile
Castlegar News
Good news for the Castlegar Rebels as they won two of their three back-to-back away games and have clinched a playoff spot.
The Rebels took to the road on January 9 to face off against the Revelstoke Grizzlies.
After no scoring in the first period the Rebels stepped up their game as Aaron Petten scored shortly after the five minute mark, with Cal Owens adding another to the tally nearly a minute later.
The Grizzlies were quick to answer with a goal of their own. Revelstoke’s Michael Roberts snuck one past the Rebels’ defence and the second period ended 2-1.
Halfway through the final period Rebels’ forward, Jeremy McNeil added another point off of a powerplay. The game looked to be all but finished until a Grizzlies man advantage led to Steven Flust bringing Revelstoke back to within one goal.
The comeback was short lived as Aaron Petten came full-circle and scored the final goal only 10 seconds later.
The Rebels ended up winning the game 4-2 with no small thanks to their net minder Austin Wells. Castlegar was out-shot 45-25 but Wells managed to shut the door and keep his team ahead.
The following night, Castlegar butted heads with the 100 Mile House Wranglers.
Castlegar’s Jeremy McNeil had himself quite the game that night, earning a hat trick and helping his team come out with the win yet again. Konnor Madsen and Lindan Calliou also had one goal each bring the Rebels to a 5-2 victory.
Three consecutive games and a hefty amount of traveling must have taken its toll on the Rebels players. The following game against Kamloops was hard fought but Castlegar came up short.
Again, the two teams kept a tight defence and allowed no goals until the second period. Ian Chrystal of the Storm was the first player to find twine within the opening minutes of period number two.
The Rebels were out for three wins in a row and quickly took the lead in the following minutes. Ryan Rosich and Carson Wornig were responsible for the two goals that propelled them forward.
Kamloops wasn’t about to lay down so easily and when they had the man advantage they pressed hard and tied things up before intermission.
The third period was not so kind to the Castlegar team. Alex Winters scored the goal that ended the Rebels night.
With the score sitting at 3-2 the Rebels’ pulled their goalie, Austin Wells in an attempt to tie it up. The plan fell through and Storm player Brett Watknison pushed their lead to 4-2.
Castlegar D-man Nick Headrick managed to get one more goal in with one second remaining but the end result remained unchanged.
The Rebels’ next games are Jan. 16 and 17 against Spokane. The second game will be played at home.
