Special teams proved to be the difference Tuesday night as the Revelstoke Grizzlies pulled away in the third period for a 6-2 win over the Nelson Leafs.
Nelson got on the board first, with Kayvon Moghareb-Samadi scoring his first of the season at 16:02 of the opening period.
But the lead didn’t last long. Cooper Olsen tied things up just 32 seconds later before Macklen Popke scored on the power play to give Revelstoke a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
The Leafs battled back in the second, with Jayden Spence scoring his first of the season at 13:10 to tie the game at two.
From there, the Grizzlies’ power play took over.
Maddox Popke restored Revelstoke’s lead on the power play at 2:33 of the third before Macklen Popke added his second of the night, also with the man advantage, at 6:05.
Maddox Popke struck again just 50 seconds later to make it 5-2, before Carsten Campbell rounded out the scoring late in the period.
While Nelson couldn’t capitalize on its three power-play opportunities, Revelstoke made the Leafs pay with the extra man, scoring three of its six goals on the power play.
Revelstoke also held a sizeable edge in shots, outshooting Nelson 44-23.
Grizzlies goaltender William Stewart stopped 21 of 23 shots for the win, while Jacob Armstrong turned aside 38 of 44 shots for Nelson.
