With five games to go and a playoff spot assured, coach Ryan Parent wants his team to compete on every shift.
“We’ve got five games left, we want to test our mettle and make sure those are playoff-ready games,” he told the Review Monday morning. “Let’s play the right way, let’s play hard and prepare ourselves to go into the playoffs.”
The Revelstoke Grizzlies played twice last week. On Friday, they were in Chase to play the Heat, and on Saturday they hosted the 100 Mile House Wranglers. Both teams are at the top of the Doug Birks Division.
Revelstoke got on the board first on Friday, with Jon Vandermolen scoring near the midway point of the first period. Unfortunately, that would be their lone goal of the game. Chase got two power play goals in the second, a even strength goal in the third, and an empty netter with 20 seconds left to enjoy a 4-1 win.
“I wasn’t impressed with the game on Friday against Chase,” said Parent. “I wasn’t happy with the effort, the compete, the amount of heart we played with.”
Back home on Saturday, the Grizzlies found themselves facing the Wranglers with half their top six forwards out. Tyler Chavez Leech, Bradley Newans and David Lenzin all missed the game with minor injuries.
The Wranglers got on the board with 3:18 in the first. They added to their lead less than a minute into the second and got two more goals before the period was out. Vandermolen scored twice for the Grizzlies to get his team within two goals, but the Wranglers solidified their lead with a power play goal with six minutes left in the third, then got a sixth goal with 2:03 remaining to go home with a 6-2 win.
Despite the result, Parent said he was happy with the team’s play on Saturday. “I was happy with the effort and some of the characteristics of playoff hockey were there,” he said.
The Grizzlies were scheduled to host the Sicamous Eagles on Tuesday, after press time. This weekend, they host the Kamloops Storm on Friday and the Chase Heat on Saturday.
“Where we’re at is play hard and play the right way the balance of the season and you give yourself a chance to win every night,” said Parent. “Over seven games, I believe a team that plays the correct way is going to win that seven game series.”
