COWICHAN 8聽聽
VICTORIA 1
It was supposed to be a night to remember, with Stanley Cup champion Tyler Bozak鈥檚 No. 11 being raised to the rafters at The Q Centre. But instead it was yet another night the current Victoria Grizzlies players would like to forget.
Following a heartfelt thank-you video from St. Louis Blues forward Bozak played on The Q Centre鈥檚 big screen in front of 1,064 fans, the Grizzlies failed to show any life and couldn鈥檛 handle the Cowichan Valley Capitals鈥� gritty forecheck all night, leading to an easy 8-1 victory for the visiting Caps, who jump past the idle Nanaimo Clippers into top spot in the Island Division with a 26-12-5 record.
Bozak played three seasons for the Salsa/Grizzlies from 2004 to 2007 before moving on to the NCAA and the University of Denver and then on to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Blues, where he won the Stanley Cup last spring.
He scored a league-high 128 points in his final season in Victoria and the current Grizzlies (16-27) could use some of that scoring touch as they went down to defeat for the third time in the last four games. Victoria remains one point out of the final Coastal Conference playoff spot with 15 games to play.
The Capitals needed just two minutes to open the scoring as Will Arquiett walked out of the corner and beat Liam Souliere in the Grizzlies鈥� net.
Souliere, making his first start on home ice after missing the first half the season to a knee injury, did his best to try to keep his team in it, but a second-period onslaught by the Caps ended the 20-year-old鈥檚 night. The Caps scored four times in the first 10 minutes of the middle frame, chasing Souliere, who finished with 29 saves before giving way to Blake Wood.
Luc Wilson, John Lundy, Matthew Crasa and Cole Broadhurst all tallied for the Capitals in the second.
Henri Schreifels had the lone goal for the Grizzlies with 1:07 to play in the middle frame.
Olivier Gautheir and Broadhurst added third-period goals for the Caps and Zach Borgiel made 33 saves for the victory.
The Grizzlies are back it tonight when the Powell River Kings visit The Q Centre.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Grizzlies were again without injured veteran forward Eddie Yan.
