Richard Virtanen continued his impressive play through the first month of the British Columbia Hockey League season, posting 32 saves and netting first star honours as the Victoria Grizzlies fought to a 4-1 road win over the Langley Chiefs.
Jared Eng put Victoria on the board early, striking at the 3:34 mark of the first period off a feed from Derek Bacon. Langley evened the score shortly thereafter, however, as Josh Myers beat Virtanen for the Chiefs' lone goal of the evening.
After a scoreless second, the Grizzlies struck three times in the final period. Spencer Copp picked up the game winner, scoring at the 2:56 mark of the period. Alex Allan added insurance with four minutes remaining in regulation, and Joel Lowry dashed any hopes of a Langley comeback in the final minute when he closed out the game with a shorthanded tally.
Virtanen's toughest work came in the first period when he faced 20 shots. The ice tilted the other way fro the remaining 40 minutes, as Victoria shelled Matt Green with 15 shots in the middle period and 13 more in the third.
Bacon and Lowry each finished the night with a pair of points in the victory.
Victoria wraps their three-game Lower Mainland road swing on Sunday afternoon with a visit to Burnaby, while the Chiefs are idle until Thursday when they host the Powell River Kings.
