The Sicamous Eagles took off last week and picked up a bit of a winning streak in the process.
After a rather rough couple of season starter games, the Junior B Eagles picked up three wins in a row, including a satisfying 4-3 rebound versus the Kamloops Storm.
When they last met, the Storm shut out the Eagles with an 8-0 tally. The two faced off again on Sept. 17 at the Sicamous & District Recreation Centre. Only this time, the Storm faced a more confident opponent.
The teams were well-matched throughout the first frame. Neither could find the back of the net until the last five minutes in the period, when Eagle Ben Campbell lit up the board with a marker set up by teammate Devyn Myck.
At 16:21 in the second period, Myck potted an unassisted goal, putting the Eagles in a 2-0 lead. Minutes later, Ian Chrystal put the Storm on the board. However, Riley Jepson converted a power play later in the frame to keep Sicamous’ two-goal advantage going into the third period.
Seconds into the third, Eagle Colby Erickson potted his first goal of the season, with assists by Bradley Whitehead and Nathan Grieve. Chrystal earned a hat trick, adding two more goals before the buzzer, resulting in a 4-3 victory for the Eagles.
On Friday, Sept. 19, the Eagles were at the Revelstoke Forum for another round against the Grizzlies. Scoring began with a power-play marker by Revelstoke at 14:58 in the first period. Eagles netminder Liam Banks was in fine form, however, and was able to minimize damage from the bold Revelstoke offence.
The Eagles came back strong in the second frame, however, with Braydon McCarthy putting the team on the board at 14:33, off an Eric Austin assist. A second marker by the Grizzlies at 11:41, was followed at 11:13 by another for Sicamous, courtesy of Samuel Subert, assisted by Scott Robinson. At 7:32, Grieve scored on the power play off passes by Scott Robinson and Nicholas Cuglietta. Revelstoke added a third before the buzzer, taking the period to a 3-3 cliffhanger.
Revelstoke took the lead with a goal at the halfway mark in the third period. The Grizzlies were fierce on the offensive, managing an astounding 33 shots on net. But no more would get past Banks, who was truly in “the zone.” Meanwhile, Revelstoke was able to sustain the lead until the 4:55, when a Subert marker off Robinson tied things up. About a minute later, Cuglietta rippled the Revelstoke mesh off an assist by Eagles veteran Darien Head. Revelstoke pulled net and tried to rally, but the end result was a 6-4 loss for Revelstoke after another Eagle veteran, Riley Jepson, potted the evening’s final goal, thirty seconds before the buzzer.
On Sept. 20, the Eagles were back on home ice where they earned a 6-5 win over the Grand Forks Border Bruins. Unlike Revelstoke, the Bruins played a more disciplined game in the first frame which gave them enough of an advantage to earn a 3-1 lead before the buzzer. Sicamous’ single was by Justin Wilde, off assists by Arlyn Semeschuk and Braydon McCarthy. The second period saw the reverse, with the Eagles adding three goals to the Bruins’ one.
Head added the first, unassisted, Tyson Taylor the second off Ben Campbell, and Wilde the third, also unassisted.
Wilde earned a hat trick at 16:54 in the third frame with a goal assisted by Grieve. Jepson sealed the win with a marker late in the period, with the Bruins adding one more before the buzzer, bringing the game to a 6-5 close for the Eagles.
The Eagles are back on the ice with a series of away games beginning Friday, Sept. 26, when they go up against hosts the Castlegar Rebels. The following night it’s off to Spokane to take on the Braves, and then back to Nelson on Sunday, Sept. 28, to face off against the Leafs.