VICTORIA 4
ALBERNI VALLEY 1
The Victoria Grizzlies had a third period to forget on Friday night in Port Alberni, but Saturday at The Q Centre, the Grizzlies had one to remember.
Twenty-four hours after allowing the Alberni Valley Bulldogs to score four unanswered goals in the final frame en route to a 5-0 blanking of Victoria, the Grizzlies put in one of their better final 20 minutes in downing the Bulldogs 4-1 in front of 1,087 fans at The Q Centre.
Victoria’s power play did the damage in the third on Saturday, with Alex DiPaolo scoring early in the period on a two-man advantage to break a 1-1 deadlock, and then rookie Andrew Amousse fired a wrist shot past Luke Pearson on a one-man advantage with 6:20 left in regulation to put the game away.
And to celebrate his recent commitment to play NCAA Div. 1 hockey at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the fall of 2021, Grizzlies forward Henri Schreifels added an insurance marker on a breakaway with two minutes left in regulation. The 19-year-old from Agoura Hills, California, now has 16 goals on the season.
Grizzlies rookie sensation Cody Monds got the home crowd into the game early, finishing off a 2-on-1 with DiPaolo for his 19th of the season. Monds, who’ll head to the NCAA and Providence in the fall of 2021, is now tied for the rookie scoring lead in the B.C. Hockey League with 45 points.
Campbell River product and former Victoria Royals forward River Fahey had the lone Alberni goal, drawing the visitors even at the six minute mark of the first.
Liam Souliere made his sixth straight start between the pipes for the Grizzlies and the 20-year-old bound for Penn State in September finished with 42 saves.
Pearson stopped 37 shots in the Alberni goal.
The Grizzlies (17-19) and Bulldogs (22-18-3) will tangle for a third straight game, this time back in Alberni next Friday night.
LOOSE PUCKS: Grizzlies defenceman Reid Lindsay was injured in Friday night’s game in Port Alberni and did not play Saturday.
