VICTORIA聽 7聽聽聽 聽
POWELL RIVER聽 6
Lucas Clark didn鈥檛 collect a point on Saturday night at the Q Centre, but the Victoria Grizzlies captain was a determining factor in his club鈥檚 7-6 win over the Powell River Kings.
Clark received a questionable check to the head and 10-minute misconduct penalty late in the first period, but while the veteran was sitting idle in the penalty box in the second period, his teammates scored three straight goals to turn the tide and pave the way to a key victory over the Island Division-leading Kings.
And just when it looked like the Kings were gaining some momentum late in the second, Clark drove around a defenceman and straight to the net, taking out Powell River netminder Mitch Adamyk in the process. Adamyk didn鈥檛 take kindly to the contact, turning around and whacking Clark with a two-handed slash while the Grizzlies forward was lying on the ice after the collision.
Adamyk was given a major penalty and game misconduct and the Grizzlies again responded with a pair of goals courtesy of Ethan Nother and Carter Berger to put the Grizzlies up 6-3 going to the third. But Clark went right to the dressing room and did not return to the game, setting up a wild third period that saw the Kings score three of their own before the Grizzlies found a way to win.
鈥淭hat was a crazy game, 13 goals, between two teams that didn鈥檛 want to quit, so we鈥檙e happy we came out on the winning side of it,鈥� said Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon.
The third period was marred by penalties as Powell River finished the game on a 6-on-3 man advantage after Grizzlies winger Ryan Nolan was assessed a major penalty for a check to the head of Kings defenceman Carmine Buono.
Video replay showed the hit to be clean, but the officials, who made several questionable calls all game, said otherwise, leaving the Grizzlies shorthanded for the final 3:30.
Carter Turnbull scored his third of the game with 2:30 to play, but Zack Rose held the fort in the Grizzlies net to give Victoria its second win in two nights.
鈥淲hen Lucas went off, it really sparked the guys because he鈥檚 their leader and they wanted to get this one,鈥� Didmon said. 鈥淭he process wasn鈥檛 perfect, but we got the result.鈥�
The red-hot T.J. Friedmann continued his scoring prowess, putting two past Adamyk, bringing the 19-year-old鈥檚 goal total to seven. Friedmann has goals in three straight games.
鈥淲ith Lucas and [Alex] Newhook out, T.J. knows we need his offence and he has really stepped up his game,鈥� added Didmon.
Friedmann, Jamie Rome and Cam Thompson had the Grizzlies goals in the first five minutes of the second period to put Victoria in front for good. Nico Sommerville had the other Grizzlies goal.
The victory moved the Grizzlies (12-8-3-0) even in points with the Kings (12-5-2-1), but Powell River has three games in hand. It was the first of three straight games between the arch-rivals. Next weekend Victoria heads to Powell River for back-to-back games at Hap Parker Arena.
LOOSE PUCKS: Powell River was 3-for-9 on the power play, while Victoria was 2-for-7. . . . The Grizzlies lost defenceman Drayson Pears to injury late in the second and he didn鈥檛 return . . . The Grizzlies were again minus leading scorer Newhook and defenceman Jacson Alexander as the pair of rookies make their way back from the World U-17 Hockey Challenge in Dawson Creek.
bdrewry@timescolonist
