A 4-on-3 power play in overtime gave the Grizzlies a 6-5 victory over the Vernon team
Victoria Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon played mad scientist on Thursday night, mixing up his lines, including breaking up the top unit of Matthew Wood, Ellis Rickwood and Connor Eddy, to try and spark his team which was coming off back-to-back losses at the BCHL Showcase.
He seems to have cooked up a winner. Wood scored on a 4-on-3 power play in overtime giving the Grizzlies a 6-5 victory over the Vernon Vipers in front of 1,045 fans at The Q Centre. It was the 16-year-old Wood’s second goal of the game and league-leading 11th of the season.
Wood one-timed a pass from team captain Rickwood 1:07 into the extra frame after the Vipers were penalized in the final seconds of the third period. The win moved the Grizzlies to 6-2 on the season, while the Vipers fall to 3-3.
The Grizzlies’ power play finished 4-for-6 against a Vipers penalty killing unit that came into the game tops in the BCHL, not having allowed a power play goal in 15 tries.
At five-a-side, the Grizzlies slid Rickwood down to a second unit with Andrew Amousse and Devon deVries, while Wood and Eddy were joined by Michael Hoeskstra, who picked up a pair of assists.
After the Vipers opened the scoring with 9:38 left in the opening period, it took the Grizzlies just 38 seconds to tie it with Eddy finishing off a 2-on-1 with Wood, beating Vipers netminder Roan Clarke.
Veteran blue-liner Clark Hiebert then tallied on the power play, off a nifty feed from Rickwood to give the Grizzlies the lead at the break.
Amousse and deVries also scored for the Grizzlies, with deVries giving the Grizzlies a 5-4 lead midway through the third.
The Vipers got the tying goal at 9:30 of the third when Logan Lorenz beat Carter Woodside while on the power play.
Nick Remissong, with a pair, Luke Pakulak and Zack Tonelli, son of New York Islanders great John Tonelli, had the other Vernon markers.
The Grizzlies now hit the road for a pair of weekend games. They’ll visit Salmon Arm on Saturday night to face the Silverbacks and then head to Merritt on Sunday afternoon to take on the Centennials.
bdrewry@timescolonist.com
