Victoria Grizzlies News

ROOKIE SAVES DAY FOR GRIZZLIES

ROOKIE SAVES DAY FOR GRIZZLIES

September 26, 2009 Sharie Epp ©Times Colonist -

Victoria Grizzlies rookie goaltender Colin Fernandes got his first B.C. Hockey League start last night at Bear Mountain Arena, and it was a doozie.

A tie game, until Joel Lowry scored the powerplay winner late in the third period, Fernandes faced a blitz of Cowichan Valley shots in the final minutes, but hung on to his team’s 4-3 victory.

“It was exciting. I like that,” said the 19-year-old Fernandez, who previously played Junior B with the Kerry Park Islanders. “It was fun.”

The game, the second in seven straight home stands for the Grizzlies, was the first meeting between the teams since the Grizzlies knocked the Capitals out of the B.C. Hockey League playoffs in Game 7 of the Island Division final. It’s been the norm for the Grizzlies, now 3-2, and Capitals (1-3-0-1) to provide plenty of fan-friendly action, and last night, the game was as entertaining as ever.

With so many quick rookies dashing all over the ice trying to create havoc and prove their worth, things looked, at times, like a high-speed car chase where the drivers don’t quite have control of the wheel.

“I think everyone would agree, it was a pretty exciting hockey game — again,” Grizzlies assistant coach Wade Bartley said, referring to Victoria 4-3 overtime victory over Nanaimo last weekend. “When you come out on top, after battling the whole game, it’s a great feeling.”

Rookie forward Brendon MacDonald scored on a Capitals’ rush at 1:39 of the first period, and immediately got into a wild fistfight with Victoria rookie Gregory Simpson. With both sides pushing hard, the lead didn’t last long, and Grizzlies centre Brandon Fagerheim, who was acquired from Nanaimo this week, made the most of his new-home debut.

The 19-year-old flipped the puck by Capitals goaltender Taylor Pears, after Alex Allan stickhandled through traffic, and patiently waited until the Caps defenceman was out of the way, before finding his teammate.

Rajan Sidhu banged a long shot off the goalpost past Fernandes at 5:41, but Spencer Copp went behind the net and jammed the puck under Pears just before the first period ended, locking things at 2-2.

Twenty minutes later, it was still tied — 3-3, after Grizzlie Dylan Nowakowski, on a power play, and Cowichan’s Alex Halloran exchanged goals. In a wild third period, Fernandes, looking very comfortable at that point, came up with several highlightreel saves.

“I was thrilled with him,” Victoria goalie coach Dean Whitney said. “That flurry at the end was really nice to see.”

“You could see at the end how he battles.”

BEAR TRACKS: The Grizzlies play host to Powell River on Tuesday, facing off at 7:15 p.m. … Former Grizzlies goaltender Alexandre Peck, who was one of four Victoria players who didn’t report to the Trenton, Ont., Golden Hawks in a trade for defenceman Brad Pawlowski, was in the stands at Bear Mountain yesterday. Reportedly, Peck is awaiting the conclusion of a deal that will send him to Cowichan Valley.