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Victoria Grizzlies eager to bounce back

The Victoria Grizzlies return home tonight with an opportunity to peck away at the substantial lead the Nanaimo Clippers have accumulated atop the Island Division of the B.C. Hockey league standings.

The Victoria Grizzlies return home tonight with an opportunity to peck away at the substantial lead the Nanaimo Clippers have accumulated atop the Island Division of the B.C. Hockey league standings.

Victoria, 5-4-0-2 for 12 points, plays host to the rival Clippers, 9-3-0-0 for 18 points, at 7 p.m. at The Q Centre.

“I have no problem saying Nanaimo is a great program right now, but it doesn’t matter where you are right now. I’m sure Mike [Clippers GM/heach coach Vandekamp] would tell you the same thing,” said Grizzlies GM and head man Brad Knight.

“It’s good for hockey. It’s good to see all of his hard work come to fruition,” Knight added of Vandekamp. “He’s a hard-working guy so give him credit. It’s good for the Nanaimo area, but at the same time, I’m sure Mike would tell you the playoffs aren’t won in October.

“When a team bolts out like that in October, it doesn’t matter,” added Knight, who stated from the get-go that the Grizzlies’ second-overall finishes the last two regular seasons mean nothing at this point. The post-season is what is remembered.

The Grizzlies are coming off a heart-breaking 4-3 overtime loss in Merritt to the Centennials on Sunday as Diego Cuglietta tallied the game-winner on a power play at 4:59 of the first extra session that Victoria still disputes.

“I think a goal needs to be definitive. I hate leaving a game in question,” said Knight, who held his team on the bench after the loss when he believed Cuglietta’s goal came slightly after the period-ending buzzer and not before. Knight was suspended three games for his actions and the argument with officials.

“To allow a goal when everyone in the rink knows it wasn’t in … that was a little heart-breaking for sure. It was a split-second decision, I get that, but they had a man advantage at the time and [the referee] wasn’t sure it had gone in. He said he had talked to the linesman, but he hadn’t.

“I thought he could have just as easily gone to a second overtime period, with them still on the power play. I held my bench and I think my kids appreciated me standing up for them.”

Especially after his team battled back from a wide shot margin to outshoot the Centennials 11-7 in the third period, said Knight.

Meirs Moore, Kevin Massy and Garrett Forster all scored power-play goals for the Grizzlies, who have now played in eight straight one-goal outcomes. Victoria’s record over that span is three wins, three defeats and two overtime setbacks, for eight of 16 points.

“I like the way our team is playing and I think it bodes well for the future. We have a high level of compete and that’s what I want to see. We want guys battling for that last cracker in the bag, for those crumbs,” offered Knight.

The Clippers, meanwhile, are coming off a 5-1 home win over the Prince George Spruce Kings and a 4-1 victory in Powell River.

The weekend victories give Nanaimo a five-game winning streak, the franchise’s longest run since 2008, when the Clippers won eight in a row.

“We’re pleased, but we still have lots to learn and it’s early,” Vandekamp told the Nanaimo Daily News of the start. “We’re still getting better all the time, but we’ve got a good group of kids here that want to get better and they’re playing hard. It’s been fun so far.”

The Clippers lead the league in goals (52), sit third overall, are undefeated at Frank Crane Arena and have yet to lose to an Island Division opponent.

mannicchiarico@timescolonist.com