The 100 Mile House Wranglers trail the Revelstoke Grizzlies 3-1 in the Okanagan Conference Finals.
The two longtime rivals clashed in Revelstoke on Friday and Saturday where the Grizzlies beat the Wranglers 7-3 Friday before the Wranglers shut them out 4-0 on Saturday. When the series came back to 100 Mile House on Monday, March 31 the Grizzlies rallied, besting the hometown team 5-3 before beating them again 8-3 Tuesday. Head coach Levi Stuart admitted after Tuesday night's game that it has been a tough series.
"The first game was a tough one in Revelstoke, just getting used to playing in that barn, it's a little bit smaller and some of our guys haven't played in that atmosphere. It was tough but we looked at that as a one-off and we came back Saturday, shook it off and had a great four-nothing win. That was awesome to show we can play with these guys," Stuart said. "Obviously these last two games have been tough. (Monday) night was a little closer than Tuesday but we feel like we're still in it.
"Guys are banged up, sick and whatever. You can make all the excuses in the world but we're still in it. We're still positive and these guys in the room still believe. We know it just starts with one game, one period at a time."
On Friday, the Wranglers started strong with a 1-0 lead in the first period thanks to a goal scored by Kole Duquette. However, in the second period, the Grizzlies found their groove scoring five unanswered goals. While Luke McFarlane and Landen Janz were able to get the Wranglers back on the scoreboard in the third period, the Grizzlies scored two goals of their own ending with a comfortable four-point lead.
The skate was on the other foot on Saturday night, however, as the 100 Mile House Wranglers capitalized on two powerplay opportunities and succeeded in shutting the Grizzlies out entirely. Early in the period Wranglers' captain Ethan Davey scored the first goal of the night, while in the second period, Janz took advantage of a powerplay to put the team in the lead.
100 Mile House kept up the pressure with defenceman Ethan Hofstand scoring another goal in the second period followed by one final powerplay goal courtesy of Nelson Webster. Throughout the third period, the Wranglers shut down the Grizzlies' efforts to score and ultimately claim victory.
"We shut them out and we played a full 60 minutes. We know we can score on these guys when we play solid defence, stay out of the box and keep our puck out of the net," Stuart said. "It's just figuring out the minor details and cleaning up the penalty kill a little bit."
The Grizzlies' response came on Monday at the South Cariboo Rec Centre, taking an early one-point lead in the first period. The Wranglers' Dawson Harden was able to tie the match in the second period before the Grizzlies gained a two-point lead.
This set the game up for a goal for goal third period with Janz and Nash Hilworth both scoring for the Wranglers, but the Grizzlies scoring as well to hold on to their lead.
Tuesday night saw the attrition of playoff hockey make itself known, with several of the Wranglers' top players either benched or playing injured. The Wranglers were even forced to switch goalies midway through the game after Tyson Endall was unable to finish after seeing six pucks enter the net. Stuart acknowledged injuries and sickness are a problem but did not use it as an excuse.
"It's the playoffs, everybody is banged up. I'm sure their team is banged up too, right, so we got to find a way to play through that, whether our top guys are able to play or not," Stuart remarked.
In the first period, the Grizzlies took an early 3-0 lead before defenceman Tyler Smoluk got the Wranglers on the board. When play resumed during the second period the Grizzlies applied more pressure scoring an additional three goals before Brodie Gohmann and Alberto Kellgren were able to fight to get another two pucks past the Grizzlies' goalie. Unfortunately for the hometown team, they were unable to capitalize on this momentum or two powerplay opportunities in the third period, while the Grizzlies scored an additional two goals.
Throughout Tuesday the game was marked by physical play with both teams doing their best to batter the other into submission. Several scuffles and near brawls broke out and multiple players' sticks were snapped, one even piercing through the boards.
With this loss, the Wranglers are now in a do-or-die situation and will need to win every game from here on out to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. They're scheduled to play the Grizzlies at home in Revelstoke on Friday, April 4.
Stuart remains defiant, noting that hurt or not the team needs to find a way to push through.
"(The Revelstoke Grizzlies) are the defending champs and they're expecting a lot out of themselves and we're expecting a lot out of ourselves. It's very competitive out there, very physical and probably some of the most physical hockey games we've seen all season," Stuart said.
"We're going to win Friday night and we're going to pack this place on Sunday and we need all the fan support for that five o'clock game. The more support and cheering in the rink, the better. I know the boys can use the extra motivation right now to get through the bumps and bruises."
