VICTORIA 4 CHILLIWACK 2
Luc Pelletier keeps on scoring and the Victoria Grizzlies keep on winning.
For the sixth time in his last four B.C. Hockey League games, the veteran Pelletier found the back of the net on Saturday night at The Q Centre and the goal helped the Grizzlies knock off the Chilliwack Chiefs 4-2 to push their win streak to four games.
Pelletier, who’s headed to the NCAA and Princeton University next fall, got the first of two Grizzlies’ power-play goals in the second period that gave Victoria the lead after Chilliwack’s Matt Argentina beat Oliver Auyeung-Ashton midway through the first period to give the Chiefs an early lead. Anthony Carone had the other Grizzlies’ power-play marker in the middle period.
Reegan Hiscock gave the Grizzlies some breathing room six minutes into the third when he took a nice feed from Carone and beat Chiefs goaltender Austin McNicholas in close.
Charlie Gollub iced it with an empty-netter. Hiscock and Carone both finished with three-point nights.
The Chiefs’ Nico Grabas was credited with the game’s final goal with under a second left in regulation.
Auyeung-Ashton finished with 41 saves to pick up his 12th win of the season.
The Grizzlies (19-11-0-1) now get ready for a key home-and-home set with the Nanaimo Clippers beginning Friday night at Frank Crane Arena and finishing up Saturday night at The Q Centre. The Chiefs (16-13-1-0) host Prince George on Friday.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Grizzlies were without two key defencemen on Saturday as Nathan King sat out due to a suspension and Richard Baran was still en route back from Sweden where he was a member of the Slovakian team at the world junior hockey championship. Both are expected back in the lineup next weekend.