Victoria, BC ~ The Victoria Grizzlies have pulled level in their series (2-2) with the Cowichan Valley Capitals after a 3-2 overtime win at the Q Centre in Colwood on Wednesday evening.
Victoria outshot their visitors 7-2 through the opening seven minutes, but a high-sticking minor would put them shorthanded at 7:09. Further examination would show it was a Capital high-sticking his own teammate, which only added salt to the wound when Massimo Fazio (2nd) scored on that advantage.
Victoria saw several Grade A scoring chances go awry, namely to Owen Warnick, who had two get looks but couldn’t get them to go, and the Grizzlies were down after twenty minutes.
Victoria was knocking on the door and finally broke through at 8:04 of the second period when Reece Gault (1) beat Rhett Stoesser under the glove on a wrist shot after a faceoff win in the offensive zone. They made it a multi-goal lead just under six minutes later when a centering pass from Max Anderson was swatted home on a scramble by Jack McDonough (1st).
The Grizzlies held a lead after forty minutes, 2-1.
Cowichan, to no one’s surprise, pushed hard in the third period, outshooting Victoria 20-4. They tied things up with just over five minutes left after Trace Frieden (2nd) caught Mikus Vecvanags out of his crease. The Grizzly netminder left the crease to stop a puck, elected not to play it, and found it sent in front by Gavin Nemis to Frieden. The Capital sophomore wristed it home before Vecvanags could recover.
2-2 after 60 minutes, and we needed overtime for a second straight night.
After two ten-beller saves by Mikus Vecvanags, the Grizzlies got an overtime winner for a second straight night. On this occasion, it was Owen Warnick whose wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle nestled into the top shortside corner of the Cowichan goal to seal the deal at 7:47 of the extra frame.
Mikus Vecvanags was yet again a game-changer for the Grizzlies, stopping 51 of 53 shots in the Grizzlies’ goal. Rhett Stoesser faced 27 for Cowichan and stopped 24 of them.
Game five is Friday evening in Cowichan Valley, and game six has been guaranteed at home for the Grizzlies on Saturday, the 11th. Tickets are available for purchase BY CLICKING HERE.
