The Fifth Season 1997 - 98
(Grizzlies Win KIJHL Championship)

FINAL KIJHL SEASON STANDINGS (1997/98)

THE 97-98 GRIZZLIES treated their fans and spectators to an exciting and successful season by winning 19 games while losing just 6 at home in the Forum.

Four games went to overtime, of which the Grizzlies went 2 and 2, beating Columbia Valley and Sicamous while losing to Osoyoos and Golden. The Grizzlies also produced a good road record of 15 wins, 9 loses and 1 tie (Grand Forks). The Grizzlies also had a 12 game winning streak from Oct. 21 to Nov. 28, winning 7 at home and 5 on the road.

The Grizzlies proudly iced their first 50 goal scorer. Team Captain Damian Fraser, notched his 50th, a short handed effort, at home in the Forum during a Sunday afternoon match, February 1st, against the Columbia Valley Rockies. Fraser's 50th was the Grizzlies 5th goal in a 6 to 3 win. Fraser played in all 50 League games, finishing regular season play with 58 goals along with 30 assists to lead the Grizzlies in team scoring.

Besides Damian Fraser, the Grizzlies placed two other players, Steve McLaren and Dean Maynard in the Eddie Mountain Division's top ten scorers.

While the Grizzlies were 4th in League power play goals scored (59) they set a KIJHL record, which still stands today, with 28 short handed goals. Alternately the Grizz led the League allowing the fewest (5) short handed goals scored against them.

Although the Grizzlies came 2nd to Columbia Valley in goals against, they led the League with 288 goals for. The Columbia Valley Rockies were the only team the Grizzlies had a losing record against (4-6), finishing the season just 3 points shy of 1st place overall.

REVELSTOKE GRIZZLIES FINAL TEAM ROSTER (1997/98)

(There are very few stats available for the players during the 1997/98 season. If anyone has ANY information that could help us, please contact the Grizzlies and let us know. The League sends each KIJHL team all their year end stats every season for all players. After that the League no longer keeps any record.)

Team Captain: Damian Fraser

THE ALL STAR GAME:

Played in Sicamous Saturday, December 6th. Representing the Grizzlies: Coach Kevin Cheveldave, Goalie Steve Severin, Forwards Ryan Irving, Shea Mollerud, Damian Fraser, Dean Maynard and Brad Pawluk.

Our Division, the EDDIE MOUNTAIN won 10 to 4 over the NEIL MURDOCH.

In the SKILLS COMPETITION, Grizzlies Steve Severin took Top Goalie and Dean Maynard won the Fastest Skater competition.

Revelstoke Grizzlies Meet Golden Rockets In Division Semi-Finals:

Golden, coached by Rob Boyd, iced a good team. Had the Rockets beaten Columbia Valley in the last two season games, then the Grizzlies could have ended up in first place and faced Sicamous instead.

Golden had the Division's top two scorers, Michael Lalonde (49 + 51 = 100 points) and Brett Roessel (33 + 57 = 90). Golden took game 2 on Forum ice and won game 3 in Golden.

The Rockets took the Grizzlies to overtime in game 4 with a golden opportunity to go up 3 - 1 in the series but Dean Maynard with his hat trick squared the series 2-2 for the Grizzlies which propelled the team to win this semi-final.

Revelstoke Grizzlies Meet Columbia Valley Rockies Division Title:

The Rockies entered the finals by outscoring the Sicamous Eagles 24 to 11 and sweeping them in four games. The Rockies appeared poised and ready for the Grizzlies who took six games to finish off Golden.

During the regular season the Grizzlies only won four of the ten games played against the Rockies. Of the five games played in Invermere, the Grizzlies managed just one win.

Coach Cheveldave said, "Revelstoke would have finished first in the League if the Grizzlies - Rockies series had been split evenly 5 - 5."

This Divisional Final ranked as one of the best in KIJHL history featuring the two top teams. Three points separated them. The Grizzlies scored 288 goals, the Rockies 265. The Rockies GAA was 3.527, the Grizzlies 3.836. The Rockies scored 68 power play goals, the Grizzlies 59. The Grizzlies netted 28 short handed goals, the Rockies 9. The Grizzlies allowed 5 short handed goals against, the Rockies 8. The Grizzlies placed 3 players in the top ten scorers, the Rockies 2. One point separated the teams top scorers: Rockies Kevin Martin: 32 + 57 for 89 points, Grizzlies Damian Fraser: 58 + 30 for 89 points.

- Series Summary -

The series opened in Invermere and perhaps the key to the Grizzlies triumph was the move GM Larry Black made by lodging the team outside of Invermere into an exclusive Radium resort. The result was a reward in getting the split in Rockieland and then winning their games at home in the Forum.

Game 1:
The Grizzlies led 2-0 after the 1st and 5-1 after the 2nd. No scoring in the 3rd.

Grizzlies Scorers:
Damian Fraser with 2, Ryan Edvardsen with 2, Wayne Cleaver (PP)

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Game 2:
The Grizzlies ended the 1st trailing 3 - 2. Midway thru the 2nd Severin replaced Kupczyk in goal and the Grizz were down 7 - 4 after two. 3rd: 2 Grizz goals.

Grizzlies Scorers:
Wayne Cleaver, Richard Duff, Ryan Edvardsen, Ryan Trotter, Shea Mollerud PP, Jeremy Meckler

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Game 3:
The home games were exciting and nail biting right to the final buzzer.

Game three in the Forum featured Grizzlies goalie Chad Kupczyk at his best showing why he won the club's Most Dedicated award.

The 1st ended 1 - 1 and the 2nd ended tied at 2 - 2. Late in the 3rd the Grizzlies were clinging to a 3 - 2 lead with less than 4 minutes to play when they took a penalty, at which point Rockies coach Gus Greco called for a stick measurement on the Grizzlies #16. Hence, the Grizz were two men short, and with the Rockies storming all over the Grizzlies net, the Grizz got caught for gloving the puck in the crease which set the stage for a Rockies penalty shot.

To add to the tense scenario, it was the Rockies top scorer, Kevin Martin that took the penalty shot with :09 seconds left on the clock. As Martin skated in on Kupczyk, Chad reached out and poke-checked the puck off his stick and preserved the Grizzlies 3-2 win.

Grizzlies Scorers:
Dean Maynard PP, Adam Williams, Ryan Trotter PP

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Game 4:
The 1st period ended scoreless. End of 2nd the Grizz led 2 - 1 on Fraser's PP goal. The 3rd period was all Steve McLaren with 2 goals, his second was short handed with 3:09 left to play.

Grizzlies Scorers:
Damian Fraser with 2, his 2nd a PP, Steve McLaren with 2 - the game winner & a short handed 1.

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Game 5:
Rockies win at home to stay alive and make the series 3-2 Grizzlies.

Grizzlies Scorers:
Dean Maynard with 2, Ryan Edvardsen

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Game 6:
One of the best Division Final games ever played and still remembered to this day by members of both teams.

The game was scoreless after regulation play. Both goaltenders were flawless, the Rockies out shooting the Grizzlies 38 to 27.

Penalty minutes were close, 10 minors to the Rockies and 9 to the Grizzlies. There were no penalties in the 3rd period or overtime.

"It was just a phenomenal game," Grizzlies coach Kevin Cheveldave said. "Invermere is a great hockey club, they didn't take first in the league for nothing. It was appropriate that our top scorer, Damian Fraser would be the one to nail the winning goal. You bet, he's our captain, our leader. He and McLaren, they're both 20-year-olds and its their last year here. Its fitting they should both be in on the winning goal."

Grizzlies Scorers:
Damian Fraser from Steve McLaren and Ryan Edvardsen in OverTime (with 7:50 on the clock) for the Division Championship.

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Revelstoke Grizzlies Meet Osoyoos Heat For League Championship:

Both teams were 2nd place finishers in their Division and it took both teams 12 games to get to the Finals.

Osoyoos took 7 games to get by Rossland and 5 games to defeat Spokane, outscoring their opponents 63 to 38.

The Grizzlies outscored their opponents 50 to 39.

Both teams had 3 players in the League's top 15 scorers. The Heat's top scorer, Robert Plester had 90 points, two more than the Grizzlies Damian Fraser.

The Heat netted 68 power play goals to the Grizzlies 59, while power play goals against the Grizz were 67 compared to the Heat's 69. In contrast the Grizzlies boasted a League record 28 short handed goals to the Heat's 5.

Over the season the Grizzlies scored 34 more goals than Osoyoos and allowed 32 fewer against. The Grizzlies amassed 894 more penalty minutes.

The regular season series was a split: the Heat winning 8 to 7 (OT) in Revelstoke with the Grizzlies avenging that loss with a 5 to 3 victory in Osoyoos.

- Series Summary -

Game 1:
Grizzlies led 2-1 after 1st. In the 2nd the Heat stunned Forum fans by scoring 5 goals in a span of 4 minutes and 20 seconds to take a 6 to 3 lead. In the 3rd each team scored twice.

Grizzlies Scorers:
Steve McLaren PP, Jeremy Meckler, Richard Duff, Damian Fraser, Ryan Irving SH

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Game 2:
Steve McLaren got the Grizzlies going by opening the scoring with a short handed goal and the Grizzlies took command with a 3 - 0 lead, end of 1st. 2nd period the Grizzlies were held scoreless while the Heat crept back with 2 goals. The 3rd saw Meckler net the game winner and Fraser capped the game with an empty netter.

Grizzlies Scorers:
Steve McLaren SH, Ryan Edvardsen, Wayne Cleaver, Jeremy Meckler, Damian Fraser EN

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Game 3:
In Osoyoos the Grizzlies led 2 - 1 after the 1st. In the 2nd the Grizzlies rocked the Heat for 8 goals and led 10 - 4 at the break. The Heat refused to fold the tent and scored 2 goals before the period was a minute old, and subsequent tallies made it 10 - 8 with 11:29 still to play. The Grizzlies put Steve Severin in goal and he shut the door on the Heat. Revelstoke outshot Osoyoos 55 - 37.

Grizzlies Scorers:
Damian Fraser with 3, Wayne Cleaver with 2, Jeremy Tisdale with 2, Ryan Edvardsen, Ryan Trotter, Jason Vos

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Game 4:
It was a wide-open game and much closer than the score indicated. The Grizzlies led 2 - 0 after the 1st, 4 - 1 after the 2nd and 2 goals in the 3rd was the icing on the cake. Revelstoke outshot Osoyoos 48 - 42.

Grizzlies Scorers:
Jeremy Meckler with 2, Damian Fraser, Ryan Edvardsen, Wayne Cleaver, Kirby Jacques

End of Series:
Grizzlies outscored the Heat 26 to 20.
Grizzlies: 87 PIM, the Heat: 111 PIM.

The Architects:
"Its been a really good year," coach Kevin Cheveldave said. "Manager Larry Black built the foundation last year. We added people where we thought we needed people and the results were good."

The Team:
Someone concluded, "They were such a diverse assortment of characters and personalities, but put them together on the ice and wow, could they play hockey!"

Revelstoke Grizzlies 1997-1998 KIJHL Champions

Revelstoke Grizzlies 1997-1998 KIJHL Playoff Scoring

Player assists are not complete. We are missing the assists for the last two games played in Osoyoos except for Cleaver who had 3 assists in game 3, & Meckler, who had 2 assists in game 4, (which are included).

REVELSTOKE GRIZZLIES PLAYOFF SCORING STATS (1997/98)

- BC PROVINCIAL FINALS -

Revelstoke Grizzlies Host Ridge Meadows Flames For Provincial Finals

About the Flames:
The Flames had an awesome year. They were the highest scoring team and had the two best goalies in the PIJHL. The Flames won the BC title in 1996 and were Bronze medallists in the 1996 Westerns. Several players from that period were on this year's roster because the draft rules were changed to allow 21-year-olds to play, hence of the 21 Flames players, 4 were 21-year-olds and 7 were 20-year-olds.

The Series:
The Grizzlies lost both games by just one goal, but it was the non-call in game two that upset the Forum fans and the hockey club.

I was sitting directly in front of the play in the third period with the game tied at 5-5 and the Flames with possession of the puck, when Dean Maynard was hooked from behind across the face by a Flames high stick.

As a helmetless Maynard lay on the ice in the Flames zone, the Flames scored a goal that stood as the series winner.

After the goal, I remember seeing the Flames goaltender skate out from his crease and fire Dean's helmet into the corner. The goalie continued to taunt him by repeatedly banging his stick on the ice in front of Dean's face. Dean suffered a dislocated jaw as a result of the high stick hook.

A sour ending to the series as a third and final game would have been justified.

Flames owner Ray Stonehouse is recorded in a lower mainland newspaper as saying, "If you would have asked me with 10 minutes left in the second game if it was going to three, I would have said yes. We have not had to play a series as tough or as physical as this series was. We were lucky to get out of there with a win. No other team in our League (PIJHL) could have done it."

- Provincial Series Summary -

Game 1:
The Flames scored right off the opening faceoff, six seconds into the game, and led 2 - 0 after the 1st, led 3 - 1 after the 2nd and in the 3rd squeaked by the Grizzlies 4 to 3. The Flames took 23 penalties for 71 minutes, the Grizzlies took 24 penalties for 69 minutes.

Grizzlies Scorers:
Steve McLaren with 2, Brad Pawluk

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Game 2:
The Grizzlies led 2 - 1 after the 1st and were tied 3 - 3 after the 2nd. In the 3rd both teams traded power play goals for a 5 - 5 tie before the Flames disputed 6th goal was scored. The Grizzlies took 11 penalties for 30 minutes, the Flames took 9 penalties for 28 minutes.

Grizzlies Scorers:
Dean Maynard with 2, one a PP, Ryan Edvardsen, Damian Fraser, Richard Duff.

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After The Game:
The feeling was; that there were a couple of questionable goals. "The referring was an absolute joke," most fans concluded. "He could have at least blown the whistle for Maynard." In the end though, Grizzlies coach Cheveldave said, "The Grizzlies had a great year with a third-place finish in Junior B hockey. Two banners hung up here, two trophies in the case. The kids did great and no one can take that away from them. I'm proud of them and the whole town should be too."

Indeed, as the Flames went home to defeat the Campbell River Storm for the Provincial Championship and from there they went on to win the Gold medal at the Westerns in Winnipeg by going undefeated and outscoring their opponents 39 to 20.

BONUS: THE SEASONS FINAL COACHES CORNER

Coaches Corner was a weekly feature on Revelstoke's CKCR radio station. Morning announcer Graeme Provencal would conduct a chat with coach Kevin Cheveldave about the Grizzlies weekend games and the players. The following is a transcript of the final coaches corner of the season. Graeme was away and station manager Steve Bender was on the air with coach Cheveldave.

CKCR: Well coach Cheveldave, they say the difference between talent and luck is so small that its almost immeasurable. Well you guys certainly had the talent.

Coach: Yeh, well, what can you say? It was so close and our guys played so hard, we didn't get any breaks this weekend and it ultimately breaks us.

CKCR: Yep, well, how's the mood of the team right now?

Coach: Ah, our guys are proud of themselves, as well they should be. I think the mood is that everybody is just upset as they don't feel they got a fair shake and there's a few questionable calls on Saturday night and, ah, you know and I'm not going to lie, the players are upset about it. But well, what can you do?

CKCR: That was my next question. What did you think about the officiating for the semis?

Coach: Well since I can't get suspended now, I can say the truth - it was horrible! It was awful and I don't want to seem whining here but I'm sure that there are over 750 people that would agree with me. It was an absolute travesty Saturday night, but I don't understand it, ah, you can't get down to the crunch like this: you play all year and then have someone that does such an incompetent job, its just mind boggling!

CKCR: Well its in the record books now, I guess that's all you can say.

Coach: Yep, like I said, our guys tried so hard, that I'm really proud of the players.

CKCR: Do you plan on doing anything now after the fact about the officiating, what can you do? Can you file a protest?

Coach: No, no point, in fact I shouldn't have even complained about it now. No, there's nothing you can do but hope its better next year. What else can you do?

CKCR: I know you didn't get much chance to look at the Ridge Meadows team during the year, but what do you think of them as a unit?

Coach: Well there a good hockey club, no question about that.

CKCR: Big guys?

Coach: They're a big team. They got a good team, but their attitudes! I really wanted to beat them bad. They're arrogant big city boys, I might as well tell the truth.

CKCR: I was just going to say, Chevy, don't hold back now. It was a heck of a battle and you got over 750 fans each night? (Attendance was actually over 1,000)

Coach: Oh yes, more. This week just tops off that you don't question who has the best fans in Junior B hockey. It's right here in Revelstoke. It's not even close to whoever would be next. The support we got all year was great and this weekend it was like the old Chicago stadium it was so loud in there, it was phenomenal, just great.

CKCR: Well, there was a little bit of garbage on the ice, (laugh) I understand.

Coach: Yeh, well, it missed the mark though. I was very disappointed in those garbage can throwers that nobody actually hit the referee.

CKCR: That's what happens when dumping fees are too high!

Coach: Yeh, I thought people from Revelstoke had better shots than that.

CKCR: OK, well looking ahead to next year, after the season that you've had, this has got to be good for gate, for enthusiasm and for promotion starting out next year.

Coach: Oh yes, you bet. We're KIJHL Champs, I don't think there will be a recruiting problem next year, for junior hockey in Revelstoke, I don't think you could ask for a better deal here.

CKCR: Right, we got the banner hanging here in the Forum now.

Coach: Although we didn't reach our ultimate goal which was to go to the Western Canadian in Winnipeg, no one can take that away from us, we won the League, the banner is up there and we got the trophy.

CKCR: Coach Cheveldave, after two real hard fought battles, losing it just by a touch and the opportunity to go on elsewhere, is there anything you would like to discuss that we haven't talked about at this point?

Coach: No, I would just like to thank management for looking after us so well and once again thank the fans for this year and most importantly thank the players for putting on such a wonderful show.

CKCR: Well thankyou very much and good luck next year. Take care, see you later Chevy. Coaches Corner heard every Friday and Monday mornings, this being the last one brought to you by ABC Country Restaurant.

KIJHL 1997-1998 League Champions: - The Revelstoke Grizzlies