Sunday afternoon, Feb. 19, the Clearwater Peewee Rep Warriors took the ice for game two of the second round of playoffs against Revelstoke.
After a big win the previous weekend in Revelstoke the Warriors were out to eliminate the Grizzlies two straight in the best of three.
The team was nervous, playing at home in front of friends, family and a very full Sportsplex.
From the drop of the puck the Grizzlies took the play to the Warriors, taking advantage of those nervous jitters. Revelstoke's leading scorer Seth Bafaro capitalized early on the tentative Clearwater team and scored the first two goals of the first period.
After regrouping and going to work, the Warriors clawed their way back into the game. An individual effort from Clearwater's top scorer, Nathen Weninger, was followed by some great work in front of the Grizzly net and a goal by Ashlyn Sunderman (made possible by some great passing from Brendan Mucha). Despite the renewed effort, after the first period the Grizzlies led 3 - 2.
Early in the second period the Clearwater crew took the play to Revy. A good team effort got Brendan Mucha the tying goal, with assists to Weninger and Sunderman. Not to be outdone, Grizzly Seth Bafaro scored his third goal of the game to regain the lead for the visitors. With great back and forth action, the teams tested the goalies at both ends. It was a physical period, with big hits from forward Jaxon Kjenstad, plus relentless fore-checking from Ali Borrow, Gibson Nash, and Patrick Walker. The score at the end of the second period was 4 - 3 for Revelstoke
The start of the third was the beginning of the end for the opposition. Clearwater's goalie Nick McInnes shut the door, squashing the Revelstoke attack. Hard hitting d-men Hudson Cobb and Matty Lee made their presence known with more than a few bone-crushing hits. Hanna Wadlegger played her tenacious game, frustrating the Revelstoke forwards every chance she had. Smooth skating d-men Julien Dewey and (Atom callup) Dorion McGill showed great poise with the puck, making sure the Warriors always took the play to the opposition. Big goals in the third by Brendan Mucha and (another Atom callup) Colby Rhodes with the eventual game winner made for a 5 - 4 Clearwater victory.
The second win meant sweeping the Revelstoke Grizzlies and sending the Warriors on to the championship round versus league champions the Kelowna Spartans.
The games were played last Saturday in Kelowna and last Sunday in Clearwater. Visit the CDMHA website to see how they did or look for results in a future issue of the Times.