Surrey, BC ~ The Victoria Grizzlies defeated the Surrey Eagles 6-5 in overtime on Sunday evening at the South Surrey Arena, picking up their 17th win of the season in the process.
Victoria found that they may have taken Surrey a little lightly early in the game, going down 2-0 in the first five minutes. Mitch Kathler, who started in goal for Victoria, saw a fluttering puck beat him from distance before backing a lost puck into his own goal less than a minute later.
Victoria bent, but didn’t break. They answered back with two of their own in less than a minute at 9:16 and then 10:09. First, Carter Oakenfold (5th) scored on a one-timer off the rush on a power play before Denny Monahan (2nd) saw a centring pass from Michael Dowdall go off his foot and in to tie it.
The visitors got the lead heading into the first intermission when Parker MacDougall (4th) finished a sweet two-on-one power play rush with Max Silver, and Victoria felt good heading to the break, outshooting their hosts 13-2 in the final 15 minutes.
Carter Oakenfold opened the second period perfectly for Victoria, scoring a shorthanded marker before the minute marker for his second of the game and sixth of the season. Surrey wouldn’t let that lead last long, making it a one-goal game less than a minute later.
Much of the same story was to come late in the frame, with Victoria once again going up by two. This time, Max Silver (19th) found the puck on his stick at the side of the goal with an empty net. That combination meant a goal, but with the way the game had gone, it also meant a quick answer from the Eagles. They got their fourth at 16:31, 22 seconds after Silver’s marker. It was 5-4 Victoria after forty, but the big story in the period was their ability to kill off five Surrey men’s advantages.
After lots of d-zone play for Victoria in the third, Surrey got a late game-tying goal with under two games left to send this one to overtime.
Artur Gross (14th) was the hero for Victoria, ending things at 8:29 of overtime.
Carter Oakenfold was named the first star of the game with two goals and an assist, while Mitch Kathler made 39 saves on 44 shots in the Grizzly crease. Parker MacDougall scored in a third straight game.
Victoria improves to 17-18-2 this season and head home with two wins in three games this weekend.
The Grizzlies are back in action on Friday night at the Q Centre in Colwood with the Langley Rivermen in town. They are also preparing for their annual Canadian Armed Forces Appreciation Night on Saturday against the Prince George Spruce Kings at 6:00 p.m. with tickets available for purchase by CLICKING HERE.
