Above Photo: Sophiesphotographys
Victoria, BC ~ The Victoria Grizzlies fell 4-2 on Tuesday night from the Q Centre at the hands of the Chilliwack Chiefs to see the Chief side take a 2-1 series lead in the Coastal Conference Final.
Victoria started exactly how they wanted to by being up 1-0 just 2:15 into the game with Will Schumacher (3) splitting the defense and finishing a spectacular solo effort.
The first period was a physical and tight checking one that saw Grizzlies captain Jacksenn Hungle get the better of Chiefs rookie Caleb Malholtra in a fight at 6:26. No more scoring followed giving the home side a 1-0 lead after twenty minutes.
In the second period the Chiefs came to play, outshooting the Grizzlies 19-8 and outscoring them 3-0. The Chiefs got goals at 4:15 and 5:50 from Connor Dick (4) and Carter Anderson (5) respectively. They added to that lead at 12:10 after nice two-on-one passing play between Mateo Mrsic and Dustin Renas (5). The latter was the man finishing the play and giving the Chiefs a 3-1 lead after forty minutes.
They tacked one more one in the first half of the third off the stick of Caleb Elfering (10) when he beat Kyle Kelsey short side off a off man rush.
Victoria made a late push in the final minutes, finding a late one from Jacksenn Hungle (1) on a power play with the goalie pulled but that is as close as they would come finishing off in a 4-2 deficit on the scoreboard.
Kyle Kelsey made 32 saves on 36 shots for the Grizzlies while Quentin Miller made 28 saves for the Chiefs on Victoria’s 30 efforts.
With the win on Tuesday night the Chiefs now lead the series 2-1 with Victoria attempting to pull even tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. right back at the Q Centre with tickets available by CLICKING HERE.
