COWICHAN 2
VICTORIA 1
The Victoria Grizzlies will head to the sa国际传媒 Hockey League Showcase next weekend one game shy of perfection.
A 2-1 loss to Island Division rival Cowichan Valley Capitals on Saturday night at The Q Centre ended a four-game win streak to start the 2016-17 season as the visitors improve to 2-1 on their young campaign.
The Capitals bounced back from a 6-1 drubbing at the hands of the Grizzlies on Tuesday at the Island Savings Centre in Duncan.
鈥淚 think we laid a licking on Cowichan on Tuesday and they had a job to do. The hunters became the hunted tonight,鈥� said Grizzlies general manager and head coach Craig Didmon. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a team everyone in our division wants to beat now.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 our first loss of the season and Cowichan wanted that. They came and got it so it was a lesson for us,鈥� added Didmon. 鈥淚 think when you lose one this early in the season in your home rink [like Tuesday], that鈥檚 a tough one and they had so much to play for.
鈥淩evenge and vendetta and all that stuff 鈥� those ingredients seemed to be enough for them to come out and be the better team,鈥� added Didmon, who was disappointed not to go to Chilliwack next weekend at 5-0.
Jared Domin buried a pass from behind the net from Ryan Hogg at 14:12 of the third period for the game-winner 鈥� just 3:06 after Keyvan Mokhtari had tied it up for the Grizzlies who were kept off the scoresheet by Cowichan goaltender Lane Michasiw until late in the game.
Mokhtari also hit the post on a power play in the last two minutes of the game.
It was a costly loss as Grizzlies defenceman Brett Stirling left the ice with a leg injury with 5:08 to go in the second period, helped off the end of the ice without being able to place any weight down. It comes a day after Nick Guiney suffered a shoulder injury in which he will be lost for up to a month.
Rhett Kingston opened the scoring for the Capitals midway through the game as he deflected a shot from defenceman Nathan Ellis by Grizzlies鈥� netminder Matthew Galajda.
Galajda made 23 saves while Michasiw stopped 28 and was named the game's first star.
At the Showcase, the Grizzlies will play the Langley Rivermen on Saturday at 4 p.m. before tackling the Trail Smoke Eaters a week today at 10 a.m. on a short turn-around.
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