The Chase Heat have overtaken the Sicamous Eagles in division standings after the KIJHL teams met on Oct. 29. The Heat beat the Eagles 5-3 to put Chase one point ahead of Sicamous in the Doug Birks division of the leagues Okanagan/Shuswap conference. Revelstoke Grizzlies continue to hold top spot in the division.
The game at Chase’s Art Holding Memorial Arena began with a goal for the home team just seconds after the opening face-off. Hayden Wiebe scored on a play set up by Breckin Erichuk and Brandon Gremaud. With two Heat players sitting in the box on a pair of tripping penalties called seconds apart, the visitors went to work with a two-man advantage. Trevor Ebeling passed to Jaxon Danilec who slapped it home to get the Eagles on the board just after the halfway point of the period. The Heat regained the lead with a goal from Erichuk a few minutes later to hold a 2-1 lead after one period.
The Eagles came out hungry for the lead in the second period, tying it up in the opening minutes with an unassisted goal from Tristan Walz. Working on another power play opportunity, Danilec marked the scoreboard with his second goal of the night assisted by Owen Spannier. The Eagles had all the momentum heading into the dressing room after the second period, but still only had a one-goal lead.
The Heat promptly scored in the opening minute of the third period, Erichuk’s second of the night. The tense tie persisted deep into the third period. Koltin Dodge in the Eagles net was pummelled by the Heat, who put 20 shots on net over the course of the period. The game seemed bound for overtime but then, with just over a minute to go, the Heat slipped the puck by Dodge, giving them a late lead. The Eagles promptly pulled Dodge in favour of an extra skater, but they were unable to score an equalizer. The Heat got a hold of the puck and Caleb Biensch put it in the empty net to clinch the win.
