Victoria ties Alberni Valley 4-4; Parkinson makes 40 saves in debut
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – December 16, 2016
By Jonathan Hodgson
Photo Credit: Kyle Robinson Photography
The Victoria Grizzlies erased a three-goal deficit in Alberni Valley on Friday night but were unable to find a resolution as they tied the hometown Bulldogs 4-4.
Trevor Cosgrove led the way with two goals for Alberni Valley while four players scored and seven skaters recorded points for the Grizzlies.
Shawn Parkinson made his British Columbia Hockey League debut in goal for the Grizzlies making 40 saves.
(Box Score– http://victoriagrizzlies.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=05c356250a4761887fde8ecb9&id=3f62b32386&e=1f9fa2e65b)
The Grizzlies (Now 22-6-3-4, 51 points) have built a seven point cushion atop the BCHL’s Island Division and sit third in the league overall behind the Penticton Vees and Wenatchee Wild.
Alberni Valley (Now 11-18-5-2, 29 points) entered the game having dropped their previous two games, leaving them in fifth place in the Island Division, four points behind Nanaimo before play on Friday.
(BCHL Standings– http://victoriagrizzlies.us8.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=05c356250a4761887fde8ecb9&id=9570b67259&e=1f9fa2e65b)
Cole Pickup broke the freshly cleaned ice, burying his 14th goal of the season just 56 seconds into the game to give the Grizzlies the early lead.
(BCHL Stats– http://victoriagrizzlies.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=05c356250a4761887fde8ecb9&id=0b33841679&e=1f9fa2e65b)
Alberni Valley was quick to respond, thanks to Mackenzie Wright’s sixth of the year, levelling the game at one apiece just before the six-minute mark.
Both goaltenders, Parkinson for Victoria and Brody Claeys for Alberni Valley, remained unbeaten for the rest of the opening period, each making seven saves.
The Bulldogs appeared to seize control in the second period, scoring three times to take a 4-1 lead.
Henry Marshall gave Alberni Valley the lead with his fifth goal of the year just 40 seconds in to the middle frame, and was followed by Trevor Cosgrove converting his seventh of the season less than four minutes later to give the road underdogs a 3-1 lead before the period was five minutes old.
Cosgrove netted his second goal of the game and eighth of the season with less than seven minutes remaining in the period, extending the Bulldogs lead to three.
Both goals for Cosgrove were scored on the powerplay where the Bulldogs were 2-3 on Friday.
The Grizzlies however had an answer, scoring twice late in the second to climb back to within a goal.
Nick Guiney’s eighth of the season, an unassisted powerplay goal, made it 4-2 with less than two minutes remaining in the second, and then in the period’s final minute, Nathan Looysen’s 12th cut the deficit to one going to the third period.
Victoria was 1-2 on the powerplay in the game.
With both goaltenders standing tall in the third, Victoria drew even with less than seven minutes remaining on Lucas Clark’s seventh goal of the season, sending the game to overtime.
Two overtime sessions solved nothing resulting in a 4-4 tie.
With a second period assist, T.J. Friedmann extended his personal point-scoring streak to eight games (5 G, 7 A).
Victoria goaltender Shawn Parkinson made 40 saves on 44 Bulldogs shots while Alberni Valley’s Brody Claeys made 36 stops on 40 Grizzlies shots.
With one point for the tie, the Grizzlies extend their division lead to eight points over the Powell River Kings.
The Grizzlies host the Prince George Spruce Kings in their final game before the Christmas break on Sunday at 2:00pm at the Q Centre in Victoria.
