Needing a win to extend their lead atop the Coastal Conference to five points, the Victoria Grizzlies went into Powell River and secured a 4-3 win on the strength of a trio of second period goals.
Brian Nugent led the way for Victoria, assisting on Dustin Mowrey's first period tally before scoring himself early in the second. Kyle Leahy and Erik Vos both scored third period power-play goals to draw the Kings within one, but the Grizzlies held on for a crucial win. Anthony Grieco turned aside 19 shots in net for the win.
In other Coastal Conference action:
- The Surrey Eagles outshot Langley 52-15 on Friday but had to wait until Brennan Strang scored in overtime to clinch the two points. Strang's marker 4:28 into OT won the game after Mike Henderson sent the game to an extra frame with a power-play marker just 16 seconds from regulation.
- Seven different Clippers struck for goals and forward Kurtis Bartliff put up three assists in a 7-2 Nanaimo win on home ice to Alberni Valley. Jon Jobin stopped 15 shots in the Clips' net for the victory.
- The Salmon Arm Silverbacks received a third period shorthanded tally from Zac Rasmussen and later scored into an empty net to topple the Burnaby Express 3-1. Matt Grassi and Conor Morrison each tallied two point nights for the visitors.
Meanwhile, the Vernon Vipers took a 1-0 lead into the third period in Trail but piled on five late goals in a 6-0 shutout win. Braden Pimm and Kellen Jones each scored twice for the conference leaders while Graeme Gordon blanked the Smokes with 20 saves.
Elsewhere in the Interior Conference:
- Gary Rai capped a three-point night with the overtime winner to send the Merritt Centennials to a 6-5 victory in Quesnel. The game featured end-to-end action, 11 goals and 103 shots after the Mills put 62 on Merritt's goal.
- Travis Ouellette's second period shorthanded tally was the difference in a 2-1 Vees road win at Prince George. Ouellett's goal was about all that would seperate the teams, with Penticton's Jordan White and the Spruce Kings' Kevin Genoe combining to stop 74 shots.
There are six games around the BCHL on Saturday night, including:
- Salmon Arm at Surrey, 7:00 PM
- Vernon at Westside, 7:00 PM
- Merritt at Prince George, 7:00 PM
- Penticton at Quesnel, 7:30 PM
- Victoria at Burnaby, 7:30 PM
- Alberni Valley ay Cowichan Valley, 7:30 PM
Catch all the action with BCHL Web TV or in streaming audio in the Fanzone.
