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Victoria Grizzlies look to keep momentum rolling

Two straight wins heading into back-to-back set with Alberni Valley
Jessica Fedigan
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Bulldogs defenceman Connor Welsh battles near the net with Grizzlies defenceman Carter Berger during a game in October. (Elena Rardon Photo)

After a string of losses, the Victoria Grizzlies got back on track last weekend with a pair of wins against Alberni Valley and Powell River.

Last Friday, the Grizzlies hit the road to face off against Alberni Valley. But the Bulldogs opened scoring near the seven minute mark of the first period thanks to Keaton Mastrodonato. Victoria answered back a little more than two minutes later with a marker from Shawn O’Malley and his first goal of the season.

The second period saw one goal between both teams with Isaac Tonkin-Palmer scoring for the Bulldogs to give the home side 2-1 lead heading into the third.

Just past the 18 minute mark of the final frame, the Grizzlies tied the game thanks to Cameron Thompson and his first goal of the season, which sent the game to overtime.

But extra play was short lived with Drayson Pears tallying one for the Grizzlies just 27 seconds in, giving them a 3-2 win.

The Grizzlies returned home Saturday to face off against the Powell River Kings, which turned into a high scoring affair with a total of 13 goals.

In the first period, the Kings jumped out to an early lead thanks to Neal Samanski’s power play goal.

But T.J. Friedmann added a power play goal of his own for the Grizzlies just past the 15 minute mark to tie the contest.

Powell River answered right back with their second power play goal of the game from Carter Turnbull to take a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

The second period was a goal fest with six added to the scoreboard, five coming from Victoria. Friedmann added his second of the night just past the three minute mark and Jamie Rome added another at the four minute mark to give the Grizzlies the 3-2 advantage.

Less than a minute later, Thompson scored his second of the year to give Victoria a 4-2 lead.

But Turnball cut the lead to 4-3 with his second of the night just past the six minute mark in the middle frame.

Not to be outdone, Victoria added two more goals from Ethan Nother and Carter Berger to take a 6-3 lead heading into the third period.

Powell River answered with two goals right away in the final frame to cut the lead to 6-5. But Nico Somerville gave the Grizzlies a slight cushion scoring his first of the year near the 14 minute mark.

Turnball completed his hat trick for Powell River but that was as far as they could get and the Grizzlies held on for the 7-6 win to extend their winning streak to two.

Pears received honourable mention for Player of the Week with one goal, one assist and one overtime game winning goal.

The Grizzlies play back-to-back away games against Powell River on Friday, Nov. 17 at 7:15 p.m. and Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Hap Parker Arena.

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jessica.fedigan@goldstream

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