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Fans of the sa国际传媒 Hockey League will get not one, but two pivotal Game 7s on Monday night as the Victoria Grizzlies and Powell River Kings join the Penticton Vees and Merritt Centennials in the always exciting series-clinching scenario. Seventh heaven, indeed.
The visiting Grizzlies did it the hard way on Saturday, bouncing back from a 2-0 deficit in the opening 10 minutes to steal a 4-2 victory at Hap Parker Arena in a strange Round 2 series in which neither team has won two straight.
Victoria hopes to snap that ugly pattern at 7 p.m. on Monday at The Q Centre.
鈥淚t鈥檚 time to break it,鈥� said a relieved Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon after the clutch win. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the thing about patterns, they don鈥檛 last forever.鈥�
It鈥檚 a strange statistic, especially considering the Kings have had ample chances to put the Grizzlies away, especially on what has become a feeble power play.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the mental part of the game, once you feel a little success the other team becomes hungry and digs deeper,鈥� Didmon said, explaining the pattern. 鈥淣ow, both teams are playing for their seasons, so there is no edge there.鈥�
Nick Guiney scored a pair of goals for Victoria, including an empty-netter, while Tyler Welsh had a goal and an assist and Keyvan Mokhtari collected three helpers. The turning point was goals from Jamie Rome and Guiney 29 seconds apart in the third period to cap the comeback.
Outshot badly, 19-7, in the first period 鈥� thanks to a series of Powell River power plays, including a 5-on-3 for a full two minutes just 24 seconds in 鈥� the Grizzlies bounced back on the Kings, who choked on the lead and were caught sitting back.
Victoria outshot the hosts 43-40 over the three periods as Kent Lewis鈥檚 Kings chose to play a defensive style after Cam Donaldson and Josh Coblenz had made it 2-0 just 10 minutes in.
鈥淵ou get down two men right off the hop and then you get a goal disallowed later on. It gave us every reason to complain and get off our game, but the guys showed me something with their composure,鈥� Didmon said.
The Kings鈥� power play, which has struggled throughout the series, failed to score on the full two-minute 5-on-3 advantage in the opening minute and also let another power play slip away just three seconds after the first penalties.
Powell River鈥檚 power play has been powerless, as it now stands a miserable 1-for-22 after an 0-for-5 performance Saturday.
Victoria was 1-for-8 on the evening and had another power-play goal disallowed as a puck that appeared to go off Mokhtari鈥檚 helmet and in was deemed a high stick by the officials.
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