Victoria, BC ~ The Victoria Grizzlies fell 4-1 to the Chilliwack Chiefs on Saturday night at the Q Centre in Colwood.
Several bad bounces came back to haunt the home side, with the main damage being two Chilliwack goals in the first five minutes of the second period.
Owen Warnick got a power-play goal for Victoria late in the second to pull within one, but that was as close as they would come, with the visitors adding two empty-netters at the end.
Victoria now sits three games back of Alberni Valley for fourth in the Coastal West Division. Alberni was quiet today, but is in action tomorrow afternoon at home against Coquitlam.
Victoria didn’t get the ideal result but did clinch a spot in the 2026 Rogers BCHL Playoffs thanks to a Powell River loss in Prince George.
Victoria has an all-important weekend coming up, with first a visit to Nanaimo on Friday and then hosting the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
First Period: Nothing To Show For Strong Showing
Victoria was the better team in the first period, but had nothing to show for it after the buzzer.
Seven minutes in, Carter Oakenfold couldn’t get a one-timer to the net with a wide-open goal. A nice passing play with Jack Kohlmann and Carson Lesiuk found Oakenfold all alone with David Di Girolamo now, where near the goal. Carter just couldn’t get good wood on, and it rolled harmlessly to the corner.
Moments later, a solo dash and centering feed from Zach Chehade went off a Chilliwack defenseman and just missed the far post. Artur Gross fired a puck high of the goal from the slot as the trailer to a 4-on-3.
Chilliwack got a power play with a minute left in the frame when Artur Gross was called for slashing while on a backcheck.
0-0 after twenty shots, 10-9 Chilliwack.
Second Period: Hockey Gods Laugh At Victoria
10 seconds into the first period after the puck was dropped, Jackson Gillespie went to dump the puck in while shorthanded, but unfortunately, the official interfered with him. The Chiefs stripped the puck and moved in two-on-one with a cross-ice pass going off a defenseman and in. 1-0 Chilliwack.
Nico Grabas made it a second horrifying bad luck moment in five minutes for Victoria at 4:23. Edvin Nilsson’s wrist shot went way over the Grizzly goal, but the rebound off the glass went right in front for Grabas to finish into an open goal. 2-0 Chilliwack.
A first Grizzlies power play of the period didn’t amount to much, but the second one finally clicked. Owen Warnick got Victoria on the board with a cross ice pass from Artur Gross, being one-timed against the grain to the top left corner. That goal came after 1:30 of straight pressure from the Grizzlies top unit.
Directly after, the Chiefs headed to the power play when Hunter Ashton was penalized for Tripping. They had all kinds of pressure, but couldn’t get the puck through fearless Grizzlies blocks.
Much of the same came directly after when Reece Gault was apprehended for Hooking. The Chiefs had 2:00 full minutes of zone time, but Victoria clogged things to the point where nothing could get to Vecvanags in the Grizzlies goal.
2-1 Chiefs after forty minutes. Shots 26-21 Chilliwack.
Third Period: Shorthanded Time Kills Grizzlies Momentum
The Grizzlies pushed frantically, trying to tie the game throughout the third period, but penalty trouble cost them. They were shorthanded on three occasions in the third (six overall), and most noteably a late penalty to Artur Gross for Interference killed their pressure.
Jack Kohlmann wired a wrist shot of the far post three minutes into the third, coming inches away from drawing level for Victoria. Maddux Martin also found iron with an empty net with 7 minutes remaining.
With the goalie pulled and a sixth attacker, a Reece Gault point shot rebound rolled along the goal line and stayed out before Jayden Veney scored an empty netter for Chilliwack from 200 feet.
The visitors added another one into an empty net at 19:58 from Reese Shaw.
Victoria:
Goals: Owen Warnick (14th) from Artur Gross (24th) & Reece Gault (27th) – 2nd period (12:59).
Penalties: Michael Dowdall – 1st period (18:02) 2:00 for Roughing, Artur Gross – 1st period (19:02) 2:00 for Slashing, Eddy Spytz – 2nd period (10:16) 2:00 for Roughing, Max Anderson – 2nd period (13:45) 2:00 for Roughing, Max Anderson – 2nd period (13:45) Misconduct, Hunter Ashton – 2nd period (13:45) 2:00 for Tripping, Michael Dowdall – 2nd period (13:45) 2:00 for Roughing, Reece Gault – 2nd period (18:00) 2:00 for Hooking, Jack McDonough – 3rd period (8:24) 2:00 for Hooking, Vidar Blixt – 3rd period (9:08) 2:00 for Slashing, Artur Gross – 3rd period (15:40) 2:00 for Interference.
Goaltenders: Mikus Vecvanags (58:28)(L) 41 saves on 43 shots.
Chilliwack:
Goals: Reese Shaw (20th) from Jack Plandowski (41st) – 2nd period (0:10), Nico Grabas (26th) from Edvin Nilsson (26th) – 2nd period (4:23), J.T. Veney (2nd) from Jack Plandowski (42nd) – 3rd period (18:57), Reece Shaw (21st) from Jack Plandowski (42nd) & Edvin Nilsson (27th) – 3rd period (19:58).
Penalties: Reece Shaw – 1st period (18:02) 2:00 for Roughing, Koby Francis – 2nd period (7:49) 2:00 for Slashing, Luke Pilkington – 2nd period (10:16) 2:00 for Roughing, Reece Shaw – 2nd period (11:25) 2:00 for Tripping, Gabriel Anctil – 2nd period (13:45) 2:00 for Roughing, Dustin Renas – 2nd period (13:45) 2:00 for Roughing, Dustin Renas – 3rd period (2:02) 2:00 for Cross-Checking, Dustin Renas – 3rd period (10:22) 2:00 for Hooking
Goaltenders: David Di Girolamo (60:00)(W) 32 saves on 33 shots.
