Friday, November 6, 2015 – Submitted by Mario Annicchiarico / Times Colonist
It’s parents’ weekend for the Victoria Grizzlies, who handed out roses to their moms pre-game on Friday night, then delivered the two points in a 2-1 win over the Cowichan Valley Capitals in yet another one-goal outcome against the Island Division rivals.
Captain P.J. Conlon snapped home the winner over goaltender Storm Phaneuf with just 51 seconds left. It was the sixth one-goal game against Cowichan with each team winning three times.
“That was awesome. It’s turning into quite the rivalry here and when you come out on the right side of a game like that it’s always exciting. Especially in front of a good crowd,” said Conlon, whose parents, Patrick and Valerie, were in the building from Ontario.
“It’s nice to have all those parents in the stands. It gives us a little extra motivation.”
It was also the Grizzlies’ third straight victory overall as they improve to 6-12-0-2.
“Three in a row feels pretty good,” added Conlon.
A five-minute penalty kill midway through the third period was the difference as Mitchell Barker picked up a major for a blow to the head and a game misconduct.
“That was a real game-changer for us, especially sticking up for a guy like Barker who has been such a good penalty-killer for us,” said Conlon.
It was a questionable call, that likely deserved a minor penalty. But the officiating wasn’t sharp all night as they also missed Alex Peck’s hand pass on the game-winner.
The Grizzlies’ penalty kill was good all night, blanking the Caps on all six tries.
“Our defensive play has been the strength of our game this year,” said Grizzlies general manager and head coach Craig Didmon. “It was a good team effort, especially with the five-minute kill. Our mentality right now is like playoff mentality.”
Patrick Geary opened the scoring for Cowichan, just 1:12 in, as the Capitals took advantage of a turnover off the end boards. Matt Hudie fed the puck out front to the awaiting Geary, who snapped it upstairs on Grizzlies netminder Matthew Galajda.
Nick Guiney tied it with his seventh of the season with assists to Tyler Welsh and Keyvan Mokhtari, who continues to play well. Welsh now has 11 points in his last 11 games, while Mokhtari has recorded nine over that stretch.
Guiney is now tied with Cole Pickup for the team’s scoring lead.
Victoria next plays host to the Prince George Spruce Kings on Sunday at 2 p.m. Powell River defeated P.G. 6-2 on Friday.
while the Nanaimo Clippers were burned 6-1 in Trail by the Smoke Eaters. The Grizzlies failed to gain ground on the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, who downed Vernon 6-3.
mannicchiarico@timescolonist.com
