A number of teams used a barrage of first-period goals on their way to wins Saturday night and the Victoria Grizzlies were no exception as they scored three times on the power play on their way to a 5-1 win over the visiting Surrey Eagles.
For the second straight night, Kyle St. Denis scored a pair in the opening frame and Madison Dias also scored in the first. Josh Monk had the only Eagles tally, also a power play marker, midway through the second.
Victoria removed all doubt in the third with goals by Evan Richardson and Mitch Labreche and with the victory, moved ahead of the Nanaimo Clippers for fourth in the Coastal Conference. The Grizzlies have just two games left but if they can maintain fourth place, they'll have home-ice advantage in the first round of playoffs.
The Prince George Spruce Kings picked up a point on Quesnel in the hunt for the final Interior playoff spot, but lost 5-4 to the visiting Westside Warriors. Two goals by Tyler French had Westside up 4-1 after two but the Spruce Kings forced OT with goals from Kyle Manlow, Trent Murdoch and Tyson Witala. But Grayson Downing's double-OT marker won it for Westside.
Like Victoria, the Salmon Arm SilverBacks used a three-goal first period to earn a win – this one a 3-2 edging of the Trail Smoke Eaters. Paul De Jersey potted a pair in the first and Jarryd Ten Vaanholt added the other. Trail's Sam Mellor scored in the second and in the third, Paul Mailey got the Smokies within one but Salmon Arm was able to hang on.
In Alberni Valley, the Bulldogs owned the first half of the game, building a five-goal lead before the Coquitlam Express Could respond in a 6-4 Bulldogs win. Five different scorers chipped with Justin Morello's tally proving the winner. Destry Straight got the Express on the board in the second with his first of the game. In the third, it was all Coquitlam as they scored three but couldn't get any closer.
Coquitlam's loss didn't hurt them as the Cowichan Valley Capitals also lost, dropping a 3-1 score to the visiting Powell River Kings. Scott Renner opened the scoring early in the second for the Kings and Matt Garbowsky's goal just over six minutes later was the winner. Chase Kaiser got the Caps on the board but Carter Shinkaruk added insurance for the Kings.
The Penticton Vees had the most productive first period of all teams Saturday, scoring five times on their way to an 8-4 win over the Quesnel Millionaires. Carter Rigby, Myles McCauley, Curtis Loik and Kyle Mountain had the Vees up four before Thomas hardy scored for the Mills. Quesnel scored three times in the second but Garret Milan and Brendan O'Donnel helped seal it in the third for Penticton.
A third-period outburst was what the Langley Chiefs needed at Langley Events Centre to dispatch the Merritt Centennials 8-2. Leading by just two after two, Langley's Josh Myers and Darnell Dyck alternated two goals each in the third to ice it for the Chiefs.
