Missing six regulars from his lineup, Victoria Grizzlies associate coach and assistant general manager Craig Didmon threw his lines into a blender on Friday night and came up with a deliciously surprising effort.
Cole Pickup and Nolan DeJong scored goals 2:33 apart late in the third period to force overtime before Regan Soquila tallied in the second overtime as the Merritt Centennials edged the Grizzlies 5-4 in a thriller on Friday night.
After a terrible start, in which Grizzlies fans were left with a bad taste in their mouths, the second and third-period efforts made it a more palatable result as the single point leaves Victoria in a tie for first place overall in the B.C. Hockey League.
The Penticton Vees downed Vernon 3-1 to share top spot.
“They showed a lot of resilience tonight, battling back for that point,” said Didmon, who was without Kade Pilton, Turner Lawson, Keyler Bruce and Chris Albertini due to suspensions and Stefan Nicholishen and Gerry Fitzgerald to injuries. David Mazurek filled in for Gerry on the triplets’ line with Myles Fitzgerald and Leo Fitzgerald.
That move forced a trickle-down effect in Didmon’s lineup, which included a complete forward line consisting of affiliated players – Pickup, Cole Golka and Josh Adkins.
“It was a good point,” said Didmon. “We had a bit of a dysfunctional lineup, with all the changes, but the boys did a good job of getting back into it after the first 20 minutes.”
Victoria almost won it asl as Leo Fitzgerald hit the post in the first overtime.
The Grizzlies were down 2-0 – on goals by Brendan Lamont and Silvan Harper – and out-shot 13-4 after the first period. If not for a diving save by Victoria goaltender Mike Stiliadis, just 2:30 in, it could have been worse.
The hosts battled back to tie it 2-2 before a strange goal gave the Centennials a 3-2 lead and the visitors made it 4-2 early in the third.
That’s when the blender started to spit out something a little more easier to swallow for Didmon.
The Grizzlies came to life in the second as Jaden Schmeisser’s slap shot found the top corner behind Merritt netminder Tyler Steel at 11:02. Leo Fitzgerald tied it at 2-2 on a one-timer on a power play at 17:04.
Myles Fitzgerald set it up to extend his point streak to eight games.
But Harper collected his second for the Centennials on a long shot from outside the blue line that eluded Stiliadis right after the faceoff.
Lamont bagged his second of the night for Merritt on a nifty move, falling to his knees before bouncing back up, 1:58 into the third before Pickup and DeJong salvaged the point.
Victoria will get right back at it tonight against Powell River at 7:15 p.m. at Bear Mountain Arena.
mannicchiarico@timescolonist.com
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SCORING SUMMARY |
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PERIOD 1 |
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Merritt Centennials at 12:37 – Brendan Lamontfrom Dane Birksand Sam Johnson |
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Merritt Centennials at 17:50 (PP) – Silvan Harperfrom Dylan Chanterand Regan Soquila |
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PERIOD 2 |
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Victoria Grizzlies at 11:02 – Jaden Schmeisserfrom Brett Hartskampand Zach Urban |
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Victoria Grizzlies at 17:04 (PP) – Leo Fitzgeraldfrom Myles Fitzgeraldand David Mazurek |
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Merritt Centennials at 17:09 – Silvan Harper(unassisted) |
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PERIOD 3 |
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Merritt Centennials at 1:58 – Brendan Lamontfrom Kevin Lohan |
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Victoria Grizzlies at 12:06 – Cole Pickupfrom Dante Hahn |
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Victoria Grizzlies at 14:39 – Nolan DeJongfrom Dante Hahnand Myles Powell |
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OVERTIME PERIOD 2 |
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Merritt Centennials at 3:44 – Regan Soquilafrom Danton Heinen |
