On Monday night, the Revelstoke Grizzlies returned triumphantly to their home city at 8:30 pm, pulling into the Forum parking lot to an anticipatory crowd of just under 100 faithful fans. Auxiliary RCMP members Eric Scarcella and Paul Carter escorted them safely into town with lights flashing on their RCMP SUV.
Dennis Beraducci did a great job throwing together the impromptu party which included commendations from Mayor David Raven, “Thanks for putting Revelstoke on the map!” The Revelstoke Current and EZ Rock were both present and had happily spread the news to Revelstoke all day. The crowd cheered the team on wholeheartedly as they pulled in and it was easy to see who amongst them have been faithful volunteers and dedicated fans all year.
The Cyclone Taylor Cup was awarded to the Grizzlies on Sunday, April 4, with their Gold Medal 4-1 win over the Peninsula Panthers that evening. This honor has never been bestowed upon Revelstoke before and this team of Grizzlies are the first to do it, according to local hockey historian Beraducci.
“This is a historic feat,” he stated proudly. “An incredible night for this town.”
As of yesterday, the Grizzlies are now the best Junior B hockey team in the entire province of BC; and their tired faces coming off the bus showed how hard they’ve worked to get where they are now. Tournament MVP, Faiz Khan, was proud of the team’s work and has been one of many stellar players in the Grizzlies’ system all year.
“This was an experience of a lifetime,” he said after disembarking from the team’s bus. “We had no idea what we were up against, but we did what it took to win.”
A highlight of the night was when the normally reserved Andrew Parent brought out the trophy and paraded it around the parking lot. The team gathered for photos outside and in, warmly accepting the crowd’s’ thanks.
Coach Mick was elated with the turnout.
“This was an unbelievable experience for the boys,” he said.” Something they may or may not do ever again. I’ve told them to enjoy this to the fullest. We have one more trophy we want to bring home to Revelstoke and two weeks to get ready for it; but unfortunately, we’re going to have to leave town now to practice and incur more costs for the team.”
As always, the Grizzlies can use help with fund-raising or spreading the word about the club’s successes. Grizzlies’ Business Manager, Mike Roberts also accepted a donation of $1,250 from Valley Black Top this evening as VBT wanted to pay for one night away in Kamloops for the Grizzlies. The road trips are costly, but last Tuesday, the Grizzlies held a fundraiser and the community helped to bring in over $6,000 to offset costs.
One difficult part of the tremendous success that the Grizzlies have garnered is there is no more generative revenue, so thanks must go out to all businesses that have taken it upon themselves to show how much they care for this team. Sure-Haul paid for all the Grizzlies’ fuel, Work n’ Play donated $400, Spice O’ Life Emporium donated percentages of their sales and personal cash, Speers Construction donated $550, EZ Rock raised over $1,700 in two hours, The Current donated $4,800 in advertising to the first business to cough up $4,000 or more. The list goes on and on with tales of Revelstoke generosity. Do we need to do this? No one is twisting anyone’s arm. We give, we donate, we volunteer, because we are Revelstokians, and we’re proud of seeing accomplishment that comes through hard work and discipline. The Grizzlies will be doing a formal press release in the days ahead as they catch up on all those piles of paper thanking the public.
Next up is the Keystone Cup from April 15-18. Follow the Grizzlies on http://www.keystonecup.ca as they’ll have podcasts. Maybe the Last Drop or the Regent should show them on their big screens, eh? Get everyone out cheering and smiling and feeling good. That’s Revelstoke!
Here are some additional photos from the team’s welcome home:
***
Revelsoke Printing and Little Caesars Pizza of the Week hidden word: Brochures
