MERRITT 4
VICTORIA 1
They’re going to have to do it the hard way, these Victoria Grizzlies.
The local B.C. Hockey League club lost its sixth straight on Saturday night, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Merritt Centennials at The Q Centre.
Of Victoria’s final eight games, the Centennials were the only team with a below .500 mark.
The Grizzlies still remain two points ahead of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Island Division as the ’Dawgs were collared 3-0 by the Salmon Arm Silverbacks on Saturday and have six games remaining, compared with seven for Victoria.
Victoria is home today at 2 p.m. against the Chilliwack Chiefs, who lost 3-1 to the Cowichan Valley Capitals on Saturday.
It was a great opportunity for the Grizzlies on what should have been a swing game with Alberni playing host to a good Salmon Arm team.
“We want to make it hard on ourselves. How they show up like that, I don’t know,” said dejected Grizzlies general manager and head coach Craig Didmon.
“Our brains weren’t on tonight. We didn’t work that hard and we didn’t think that hard.
“I think they looked at the list of teams we had left and they looked at these guys as a team below .500 and it was going to be an easy night. They were wrong and we better show up [today]. That’s all I have to say. It was a great opportunity and we just blew it.”
There was little sense of urgency or desperation from the hosts.
Nick Jermain and Colin Grannary scored third-period goals, the latter a short-handed marker into an empty net with 2:12 to go on a Victoria power play with goalie Matthew Galajda pulled for a 6-on-4 situation.
After a scoreless first period, in which the Grizzlies were out-shot 9-4, Zack Court and Nick Fidanza scored goals less than a minute apart to give the Centennials a 2-0 lead by 2:54 of the second.
Defenceman Brett Stirling finally got the Grizzlies on the scoreboard at 17:07 of the middle frame as he banged a rebound by Merritt netminder Cole Kehler.
Victoria had plenty of chances, especially on the power play in which the team went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
Merritt was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
mannicchiarico@timescolonist.com
Twitter/tc_vicsports
