Carter Shannon evaded the Grizzly defence to skate in on Revelstoke goalie Liam McGarva and score the Coyotes’ second goal. (Richard McGuire photo)

It was billed as a rematch of last season’s conference final between Osoyoos and Revelstoke.

But when the two teams faced each other at the Sun Bowl Arena Saturday, the 8-3 score left no doubt that at this early stage in the season, the Revelstoke Grizzlies are a much stronger team.

The opening period, which ended with Osoyoos down 5-0, saw some of the worst play by the Coyotes since the team’s inception eight years ago.

The Coyotes were rarely able to control the puck and at times they all but abandoned goalie Daniel Paul to the mercy of the raging Grizzlies.

In the first period, Revelstoke outshot Osoyoos 17-5 and even when the Coyotes had a man advantage, they had trouble controlling the puck.

Fortunately the home team managed to save some face by picking themselves up in periods two and three, putting up a credible fight and not giving up.

In the last two periods, the two teams managed three goals each and the shots on goal were a little more evenly matched at 28-21 for Revelstoke.

Despite the overall poor play by the Coyotes, there were some strong performances.

Carter Shannon was all that’s left of the once-powerful “Terrace Coyotes,” with Nick Nordstrom now gone and Brandon Onstein and Sam Reinbolt out of the line-up for now.

Shannon is always exciting to watch, and he didn’t disappoint Saturday night when he evaded the Grizzly defence and skated in to skillfully put the puck past Revelstoke goalie Liam McGarva.

This second Coyote goal in the second period, unassisted, seemed to give the team the morale boost they needed to fight back.

And, despite allowing seven of the Coyotes’ eight goals against, goalie Paul did his best in a nearly impossible task. Had a lesser goalie been in net, the final score might have been even uglier.

Nonetheless, Paul was relieved in the second period by backup goalie Bailey Monteith, who fended off numerous Grizzly attacks.

In the opening period, Revelstoke monopolized play from the start, but they didn’t manage to score until nearly eight minutes in. They then scored three goals in two minutes, setting the tone for the period.

Neither team scored any power play goals throughout the game, but the third Revelstoke goal was scored on a delayed penalty as goalie McGarva made a beeline for the bench.

Two more goals in the final minutes of the first period, sealed the Coyotes’ fate. Grizzly David Lenzin scored the first goal of a hat trick.

The Coyotes got onto the scoreboard just over a minute into the second period when Ryan MacDonald scored, assisted by local boy Tyler Badger.

But minutes later, Revelstoke added two more, including Lenzin’s second, and it was 7-1.

In the middle of the period, Shannon scored his breakaway goal, which appeared to energize the Coyotes.

Then, seconds after a penalty to Cole Rezka ended, Seth Kriese slipped unnoticed past the Revelstoke defence to add the Coyotes’ third goal. Peter Michailides assisted.

The final period remained scoreless until with three minutes remaining, Lenzin scored his hat trick goal for Revelstoke.

The Coyotes have nearly a week to lick their wounds before going on the road to face Summerland on Friday and the Grand Forks Border Bruins on Saturday.

They don’t play another home game until Saturday, Oct. 6, when they host the Fernie Ghostriders.

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times

Coyote goalie Daniel Paul was often left to face the Grizzlies on his own in the first period. This time he thwarted the attack by Brenden Vulcano. (Richard McGuire photo)

David Lenzin (left) scores his first of three goals late in the first period, giving Revelstoke a 5-0 lead. (Richard McGuire photo)