Having taken five of a possible six points from the Powell River Kings these last three games, the Victoria Grizzlies will be looking to cap it with two more tonight.
It’s the fourth straight encounter between the two B.C. Hockey League clubs, set for 7:15 p.m. at Bear Mountain Arena — a quirky bit of scheduling, to be sure.
The Grizzlies are coming off an overtime win and an extra-session loss in Powell River over the weekend. Victoria recorded a 6-2 victory11 days ago at home to start the four-game scenario.
The regular-season matchup is a preclude to the most likely post-season, first-round series, unless the Kings can suddenly get hot. But as it stands now, Powell River is five points back of Alberni Valley and has played four more games, so chances are Grizzlies fans are going to get sick of seeing the Kings.
“That was a difficult place to play and win and get points out of, so we were happy with the two overtime games, which could have gone either way. We’re happy to come out with three of the four points,” Grizzlies general manager and head coach Bill Bestwick said of the weekend clashes that ended with a 3-2 OT defeat on Saturday.
That second game in two nights featured five affiliated players in the Victoria roster.
“That Friday night game, there was a lot of indicental contact that turned an owie into a sprain. Given the fact, we just had to manage that and make sure that we’re going to give guys rest when they need it and not put them into situations where they might get hurt even more,” said Bestwick.
He got on the phone for callups immediately following Friday’s 4-3 win.
Victoria should be fairly healthy tonight with Turner Lawson also expected to come back from his seven-game suspension.
The Grizzlies have now gone 12 games earning at least one point, not having lost in regulation time since Dec. 29.
“It’s pretty impressive for our team to be as consistent as we have been,” admited Bestwick, who would love to tuck another two points away and say goodbye to the Kings, for now.
Myles Fitzgerald was not officially awarded a point in Saturday’s game, but game film shows he did earn a point on brother Leo Fitzgerald’s tying goal late in the third period. That will be sent to the BCHL office so Myles’ string should now extend to 18 games in which he’s collected 32 points.
Myles sits fourth in league scoring, two points behind league-leader Mario Puskarich of Langley.
mannicchiarico@timescolonist.com
© Copyright 2013
