The Victoria Grizzlies added to a Vancouver Island rival's recent woes on Saturday evening, scoring a pair of late goals to surge to a 4-2 road victory over the Nanaimo Clippers at the Frank Crane Arena.
The Grizzlies took command of the game late in the first period, as both Sam Grist and Dustin Mowrey hit the scoreboard. But Nanaimo made headway early in the second, as Luc Olivier Blain brough the home side within one with a power-play effort just 1:11 into the period.
Brayden Jaw evened the game at the 4:49 mark of the third period, but Nanaimo's bid for a key home victory was ruined by former Clipper Brandon Fagerheim, who put the visitors back ahead with less than four minutes remaining in regulation. Wesley Myron closed out the scoring with a shorthanded empty net goal at 19:56 of the period.
Ryan Holfeld picked up the victory for Victoria after facing 33 shots. Rhys Hadfield was the more busy of the two netminders, but he ultimately suffered the loss despite a 30-save effort.
The two teams have only three days to wait before renewing their rivalry, as the Clippers are set to make the return trip to the Bear Mountain Arena on Tuesday evening.
