VICTORIA 6 POWELL RIVER 2
If this doesn鈥檛 spark a little animosity, nothing will.
The Victoria Grizzlies struck early and often in handing their Island Division rival Powell River Kings a resounding 6-2 thumping on Saturday night at Bear Mountain Arena.
It was the first of four straight head-to-head games for the sa国际传媒 Hockey League clubs in a quirky bit of scheduling. The Grizzlies travel to Powell River for a pair next weekend before the Kings return to Victoria on Feb. 5, in a stretch that will surely create even more hatred between the two organizations.
David Mazurek, who capitalized on a wild scramble to stake the Grizz to a 1-0 lead at 5:54 of the first period, had two goals and two assists as he has filled in on the triplets鈥� line, replacing Gerry Fitzgerald who is out with an injury.
鈥淲ith Gerry out, I was able to step up and play out of my comfort zone,鈥� said Mazurek. 鈥淭hose little guys know where I鈥檓 going to be and it makes the game a little more fun.鈥�
Myles Fitzgerald extended his point streak to nine games with four assists and Leo Fitzgerald had a goal and a helper as the line collected 10 points.
Defenceman Blake Thompson had a pair of goals for Victoria while Mark McLellan added another as the Grizz led 2-0 and 6-0 by periods.
Brady Rouleau had his shutout bid snapped with 5:50 to go by Jordan Benton and Evan Richardson added a short-handed goal on a 5-on-3 with 25.1 seconds left.
鈥淚 feel bad that we hung [Rouleau] out to dry with those last two goals,鈥� Mazurek said.
鈥淏rady鈥檚 sort of biting his lip in [the dressing room], but we gave him the hardest working award tonight.鈥�
Back-to-back fights broke out midway through the final frame.
Victoria, which now has points in its last 10 outings and has clinched a playoff spot, remains tied with Penticton for first place overall in the BCHL, but does have a game in hand on the Vees.
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