Victoria, BC ~ The Victoria Grizzlies were outscored four to one in the third period but held on to beat the Powell River Kings 8-5 on Saturday night at the Q Centre in Colwood.
Victoria led 3-0 after twenty minutes, thanks to tallies from Max Silver (15th), Samuel Rousseau (14th) and Trae Johnson (5th). Silver scored off the rush, Rousseau banked one in from below the goal line, and Johnson scored a power-play marker with two seconds left on the clock.
After outshooting the Kings 20-8 in the first, the Grizzlies found themselves having to bounce back from an early period goal from the Kings (Chris Battaini), who took advantage of a Grizzlies giveaway. Thankfully for the home side, they annihilated the Kings from there until the end of the period.
Artur Gross (6th) finished a net front scramble at 0:59, Eddy Spytz got his first BCHL goal at 2:36, Landon Mackie (7th) went bar down from the far circle at 8:29, before Niklas Karjalainen (5th) made it 7-1 with 46 seconds left in the period.
All looked well, and the Grizzlies made a goaltending change heading into the third to give newcomer Casimir Weckstrom a chance to debut in a non-stress situation, but he was beaten four times on nine shots while not being supported much from a Grizzlies team that looked ready for tomorrow’s Teddy Bear Toss a bit too early. Victoria added one from Vidar Blixt (3rd) at 12:17, which finished off the scoring at 8-5.
Victoria improves to 13-9-0 on the season while the Kings fell to 3-18-1 this year.
Victoria is back in action tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. at the Q Centre for their annual Teddy Bear Toss game. Limited seating is available, so get your spot now by buying online by CLICKING HERE.
