Carter Shannon almost had a great scoring opportunity when the Coyotes were shorthanded early in the second period, but Cody Flann of the Grizzlies thwarted his attack. (Richard McGuire photo)

The Grizzlies dashed any hopes the Osoyoos Coyotes may have had to win their series on home ice Saturday, returning to Revelstoke with a 4-1 win under their belts.

The two teams face each other Sunday night in Revelstoke for the seventh and deciding game of the Okanagan/Shuswap final series.

The winner of Sunday’s game will face Kimberley in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League final series.

They Coyotes got off to a bad start and had a rotten first period.

Bryson Garska, a reserve rookie with the Coyotes, took an interference penalty two and a half minutes into the game. Five seconds later, Revelstoke’s Ullar Wiatzka scored a power play goal to make it 1-0.

Then exactly two minutes later, Cody Flann raced in to score an unassisted goal, putting the Grizzlies ahead 2-0.

That period saw Revelstoke outshoot Osoyoos 15-6 as the Coyotes appeared tired, no doubt from the grueling playoff schedule and long bus trips.

In the second period, the Coyotes seemed to recover some energy and several times had the Grizzlies hemmed into their own end.

Carter Shannon appeared relentless in trying to get that goal that the Coyotes needed, but the Grizzlies beat him back every time.

Close to the halfway mark in the second period, Judd Repole took a slashing penalty. Less than a minute later, Ryan Pereverzoff scored the power play goal to make it 3-0 for the Grizzlies.

Finally, with three minutes remaining in the second period, Repole deflected a shot by Carter Robinson into the net. Colin Bell was also credited with an assist.

The Coyotes seemed energized in the final minutes of the second period, and for a while it looked like they might mount a comeback.

Any such hopes were dashed early in the third period when Clark Nelson scored an unassisted goal for Revelstoke to make it 4-1.

The Coyotes pulled goalie Daniel Paul for an extra attacker at the end, but by this time the situation was hopeless.

The Coyotes face a tough fight in Sunday’s seventh game where the reinvigorated Grizzlies enjoy a home-ice advantage.

But if the Coyotes can pull an Easter Bunny out of the hat and win on Sunday, they’ll have made it to the league final – the best playoff result for the team since 2010-11 when they won the league championship.

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times

Carter Shannon brought the puck to the doorstep of Revelstoke goalie Giovanni Sambrielaz, but he didn’t manage to score. (Richard McGuire photo)

Revelstoke celebrates after scoring their third goal on a power play halfway through the second period. (Richard McGuire photo)

Judd Repole (left of net) defects a shot by Carter Robinson (foreground) into the net to score the Coyotes’ only goal in Saturday night’s 4-1 loss to Revelstoke. (Richard McGuire video capture)