Despite a downpour outside, the Victoria Grizzlies weren'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.
"In the first and second periods, we had a lot of chances that we didn't bury and we were pretty frustrated. We came together as a team and stayed positive," 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 B.C. Hockey League's Island Division.
On a day in which it was pouring cats and dogs, the Bulldogs failed to steal the Grizzlies' 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 - 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.
"They were more tired, I think," said Gerry Fitzgerald. "And we came out there and just punished them and played hard.
"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."
Victoria outshot Alberni 17-6 in the critical third.
"It was an opportunity for us to take advantage of a team that played [Saturday] night and the night before. ... We were the beneficiary of the scheduling," said Grizzlies general manager and head coach Bill Bestwick.
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.
If there was a negative Sunday, it was the Grizzlies' 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.
