Monday’s game 7 of the B.C. Hockey League Island final came as advertised.
The Victoria Grizzlies and Powell River Kings were embroiled in a tight game, 1-1 after the first period, after which the teams’ goalies put on a clinic for the next three periods and didn’t allow a goal.
Finally in the first minute of the second overtime, after more than 100 minutes of hockey, the Grizzlies’ Keyvan Mokhtari slipped through the defence on a three-on-two rush and beat Powell River goalie Brian Wilson glove side with a hard wrist shot to send the season-high crowd of 1,700 at The Q Centre into delirium.
The second-year Grizzlies forward admitted this second-round B.C. Hockey League series clincher was the biggest goal he’s ever scored. “For sure, nothing can compare to that,” he said.
Mokhtari went on many rushes through the game – his energy seemed endless, even in overtime – but he made the most of his final one. The team’s conditioning was a key factor, he said.
“For us it was just making sure we wore down their d-men during the game. You could tell by the first overtime they were all gassed out and we just had to take advantage.”
The Grizzlies advanced to the third round, a best-of-seven against the Chiliwack Chiefs, who stunned regular season champion Wenatchee Wild with a 4-0 sweep in the Mainland Division final. Game 1 and 2 of the BCHL semifinals go this Friday and Saturday in Chilliwack, with games 3 and 4 scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Colwood.
Penticton, who beat Merritt 6-2 in their game 7 Monday, will play Vernon in the other league semifinal.
Grizzlies head coach Craig Didmon sung the game hero’s praises, as the players hooted and hollered with excitement in the dressing room behind him.
“Mokhtari just played such a great game and down the stretch with the last three games of the series, he was just dynamite for us,” Didmon said. Mokhtari had three assists in Saturday’s critical 4-2 game 6 win in Powell River.
Brett Stirling, who was a rock on defence all game, set up the winning goal and afterward talked about the impact of the win.
“It feels amazing, this is something that you dream about, a game seven, when you’re a little kid,” Stirling said. “We all just came out here and tried our hardest and that was the thing, everyone gave 100 per cent and at the end of the day you can look in the mirror no matter what the outcome and we were lucky enough on a great shot by Moks to get the win.”
The second, third and first OT period were about as even as they could be, with neither team wanting to make a critical error that might lead to a goal. While the Grizzlies and Kings both had periods of sustained pressure, Wilson and Victoria’s Matthew Galajda came up big to keep their teams even.
The total shots wound up 37 apiece, with the Grizzlies getting the only one in the second OT.
Cole Pickup gained a measure of retribution in the final minute of the first period, setting up linemate Aaron Rome with a perfect pass to the slot, which Rome buried to make it 1-1. Pickup was handed a four-minute penalty 3:05 into the game for high sticking, on the back half of which the Kings’ Curtis McCarrick opened the scoring.
Didmon sounded relieved to get past Powell River, a team he called well coached and “a great hockey team … scary to play against.”
As for Kings head coach Kent Lewis, he said losing game 6 at home after being ahead 2-0 was “the kicker for me.” Nonetheless he was proud of how his team came in and never gave up in game 7.
“Coming in here tonight, it was a battle and I’m proud of our battle,” he said. “It was anybody’s game. Give them credit, they’ve had a consistent year all year and they beat us. We just gotta find ways to put more than one puck in the net.”
editor@goldstreamgazette.com