Austin Cleaver skates away from his teammates with a big smile on his face after scoring the winning goal Wednesday night. (Richard McGuire photo)
The Osoyoos Coyotes tied their series with the Revelstoke Grizzlies Wednesday night in a hard-fought, home-ice victory.
The series is now at two wins each and it returns to Revelstoke on Friday night.
The win also guarantees the Coyotes will have one more game on home ice this Saturday.
The Coyotes once again got off to a shaky start, and Revelstoke scored the first goal around five minutes into the game.
But after a while the Coyotes found their feet. When the Grizzlies’ Harrison Rosch lost his cool after taking a hit and got a penalty for kneeing, it gave the Coyotes the opportunity to get back in the game.
Carter Robinson scored the power play goal with less than three minutes remaining in the first period, with Hunter Johnson and Colin Bell assisting.
The first period ended in a draw – a tie of 1-1 with both teams getting an identical 12 shots on goal.
The Coyotes were energized going into the second period with a man advantage because Revelstoke’s Ryan Pereverzoff took a hooking penalty in the final minute of the first.
Even after the penalty was over, the Coyotes had the Grizzlies caged up in their own end.
Austin Cleaver was right in front of the net and Revelstoke goalie Giovanni Sambrielaz was out of position when Cleaver took a pass from Colin Bell and shot it into the net at close range. Carter Shannon also set up the play.
The Coyotes kept up the pressure for the rest of the second period, but neither team managed to score. The Yotes outshot the Grizzlies 18-11.
There were no goals in the third period either, though Revelstoke tried hard to tie the game, outshooting the Coyotes 12-7.
As the third period drew near the end, Revelstoke pulled Sambrielaz for an extra attacker. Neither team was able to capitalize.
If the series doesn’t wrap up on Saturday, they’ll play a seventh and deciding game on Sunday in Revelstoke.
The Kootenay Conference series didn’t play Wednesday night, but Kimberley and Nelson are back at it on Thursday night in Kimberley. That series is also tied at two games each.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
Austin Cleaver scored the winning goal from in front of the net after receiving a pass from Colin Bell (right). Carter Shannon also assisted. (Richard McGuire photo)
Austin Cleaver scored the winning goal from in front of the net after receiving a pass from Colin Bell (right). Carter Shannon also assisted. (Richard McGuire photo)
Coyotes Judd Repole, Colin Bell, Cody Allen and Carter Shannon celebrate with Austin Cleaver, who scored the winning goal. (Richard McGuire photo)
Jordan Rea manhandles Jack McNamara. The game saw some rough play, but it was much less violent than Tuesday’s game. (Richard McGuire photo)
