Despite a downpour outside, the Victoria Grizzlies weren聮t about to let anyone rain on their parade on a damp Sunday afternoon.
The Grizzlies battled back from a 2-0 third-period deficit to down the Alberni Valley Bulldogs 3-2 in overtime in front of an announced crowd of 936 fans at Bear Mountain Arena.
Port Alberni native Gerry Fitzgerald recorded three assists, setting up Myles Powell for the winner at 1:01 of overtime after he had dished off to brother Leo Fitzgerald for the tying goal on a power play at 14:25 of the third period.
The third triplet, Myles Fitzgerald, got the Grizzlies on the scoreboard at 3:29 of the third.
聯In the first and second periods, we had a lot of chances that we didn聮t bury and we were pretty frustrated. We came together as a team and stayed positive,聰 said Gerry, who set up Powell on a 2-on-1 that beat Bulldogs goaltender Brad Rebagliatti.
It was obviously a more tired Alberni club that rolled into town, playing its third game in three days in a matchup that was billed as the battle for first place in the sa国际传媒 Hockey League聮s Island Division.
On a day in which it was pouring cats and dogs, the Bulldogs failed to steal the Grizzlies聮 thunder.
Ryan Lough, on a backhand, had the only goal of the first period, coming on a four-on-four at 18:58 of the frame. Then Chris Tracy upped the Alberni advantage to 2-0 on a long snap shot that eluded Victoria netminder Mike Stiliadis on the glove side 聴 a shot that he surely should have had.
The Bulldogs had outshot the Grizzlies 24-18 after 40 minutes, despite playing the two previous nights.
聯They were more tired, I think,聰 said Gerry Fitzgerald. 聯We were a better-conditioned team, and we came out there and just punished them and played hard.
聯I think, for sure, that it [caught up to them]. We had to take advantage of that. We came out with a little more swagger than we did in the first and second period.聰
Victoria outshot Alberni 17-6 in the critical third and 2-0 in overtime when Powell finished it.
聯It was an opportunity for us to take advantage of a team that played [Saturday] night and the night before. 聟 We were the beneficiary of the scheduling,聰 said Grizzlies general manager and head coach Bill Bestwick. 聯That said, we did the same thing three weeks ago, and things have a way of balancing out.
聯We did have the legs, and that was evident. All I can say is they played the perfect road game. That聮s a really good hockey team, and I tip my cap to them on how good they played today.聰
The Grizzlies improve to 8-4-0-1 for 17 points after their third overtime victory of the season. The Bulldogs are 7-5-0-2 for 16 points, having played one more game than Victoria, which fought back yet again, after defeating the Penticton Vees 3-2 in double overtime on Friday.
If there was a negative on Sunday, it was the Grizzlies聮 power play that struggled again, but Leo Fitzgerald did manage to tie it on the man advantage that went 1-for-6 on the afternoon against an aggressive Bulldogs聮 penalty kill.
聯We didn聮t react to it as well as I wish we did. 聟 At the end of the day, we have to find a way to get better on our power play, no question,聰 said Bestwick.
Victoria returns to action on Friday at home against Trail.
IN THE DEN: It was Grizzlies聮 defenceman Justin Coachman聮s first game back after an eight-game suspension. Coachman nailed Evan Anderson late in second period to give the hosts a bit of a spark, but that was taken away when Turner Lawson was sent to the showers on a major for a hit to head, which brings with it a game misconduct. Lawson likely nets a two-game suspension for the major.
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