By David F. Rooney
Success in a playoff series sometimes depends on being the hungriest team on the ice. The Princeton Posse surged onto the ice with a definite appetite Wednesday evening but their eyes were bigger then their stomachs. In the end, not only was their hunger for victory outmatched by the Revelstoke Grizzlies’, they were out-played and overpowered 7-3.
Princeton scored at 13:59 in the first period but a highy-sticking penalty 20 seconds later gave the Grizzlies a power play opportunity. They made the most of it and at 12:20 Brad Friedrich tied it up 1-1 with assistance from Lucas Blinkhorn and Caleb Roy. A second power play opportunity for Revelstoke crumbled against Princeton’s staunch defence of its net and the period ended with the tie.
The Grizzlies roared back in the second with a goal at at about the 15-minute mark from Brad Silvera, assisted by Brad Irving. Six minutes later another power play developed and Jordan Bledsoe, aided by Riley Spraggs and Caleb Roy, scored again, making it a 3-1 game. That’s when Princeton surged again, scoring at 8:53 and again at 2:24 to tie the game up. But that was it for the Posse.
Revelstoke owned the third period. Caleb Lister, assisted by Josh McKissock, scoed at 18:45, followed 26 seconds later by Bruce Silvera off of Lucas Blinkhorn and Brad Irving. Silvera made it a hat trick at 10:56, again aided by Blinkhorn, and on a power play at 8:26, Luke Richardson made the final goal of the evening off of Blinkhorn and Faiz Khan.
Andrew Parent played a full shift Wednesday evening fending off 28 of the Posse’s shots on goal. The Posse went through two goalies in the course of the game. Brett Patchett managed 22 saves on 25 SOG. He was replaced Weston Joseph in the last 20 minutes of the game. He managed just two saves on six shots.
In the penalty department, the teams were evenly matched with 13 apiece.
The playoffs now move to Princeton where the Posse will host the Grizzlies on Friday and Saturday.
