The Olds Grizzlys season came to an end at the SportsComplex on Monday night.
The Black & Gold were eliminated from contention for one of the 8 spots in the Inter Pipeline Cup AJHL Playoffs as they fell 5-2 to the Grande Prairie Storm in Game 4 of their play-in round series. The Storm knocked out the Grizzlys by taking the best of five series 3 games to 1.
Grizzlys defenceman Ryan Tong (2004) from Burnaby, B.C. potted the first goal of Game 4 by tapping one in at 2:39 of the second period and Captain Cade Moxham (2004) from Bakersfield, California rounded out the scoring with his tally at 18:19 of the third period. However, in between those goals Grande Praire netted three in the second period and two more in the third to build up a comfortable lead.
Despite the outcome, Grizzlys Assistant Captain Greye Rampton (2004) from Chilliwack, B.C. knows how important it was for the development of their young team to have the opportunity to play a postseason series this year.
Grande Prairie had 24 wins during the regular season and the Grizzlys had just 10. The Storm finished the 57 game regular season for 2023-2024 with 29 more points than Olds. However, Rampton says there wasn’t much separating the two teams on the ice once the series started.
After getting past the Grizzlys, the 6th place Grande Prairie Storm will now move on to face off with the 3rd place Calgary Canucks in the Inter Pipeline Cup AJHL Playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Camrose Kodiaks also won their play-in series on Monday night. The Kodiaks defeated the Thunder 3-2 in overtime in Game 4 in Drayton Valley to take that series 3 games to 1. The 8th place Kodiaks will take on the 1st place Whitecourt Wolverines when the Alberta Junior Hockey League playoffs begin.
Rounding out the first round match ups will be the 2nd place Lloydminster Bobcats versus the 7th place Canmore Eagles, and the 4th place Bonnyville Pontiacs against the 5th place Drumheller Dragons.
96.5 CKFM spoke with Greye Rampton after Game 4.
CKFM also gathered post-game audio from rookie forward Gage Giblin (2005) from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
96.5 CKFM had this pre-game conversation with Olds Grizzlys Head Coach Scott Atkinson.
CKFM caught up with Grande Prairie Storm Head Coach Eric Thurston ahead of Game 4.
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