Victoria Grizzlies Tyler Welsh and Matthew Galajda showed again why they are about to become Ivy Leaguers in the NCAA.
Two goals by Yale-bound forward Welsh, his 16th of the season in the first period and 17th in the second period, staked the Grizzlies to a 4-1 B.C. Hockey League victory over the host Spruce Kings on Friday night in Prince George.
“Those were two gritty goals by Welsh,” said Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon.
Cornell-bound goaltender Galajda made 38 saves and wasn’t beaten until 13:43 of the third period by Tyler Anderson.
Victoria forward Cole Pickup put the game away with a breakaway goal at 14:51 of the third period as Victoria moved to 19-5-5 while the Spruce Kings, also beaten by Chilliwack at home on Thursday night, fell to 14-12-3.
Jamie Rome added a power-play goal for good measure to close out scoring.
It was a good outing for a Grizzlies team that didn’t get into their hotel room in Williams Lake until 3:30 a.m. Friday morning because of road issues on the way up.
“They guys were starting to feel heavy in the third period but we played a full bench and kept it simple,” said Didmon.
“We kept our nose to the grindstone for 60 minutes and beat a team that is tough to defeat in their own barn.”
The Grizzlies continue their tire-busting three-games-in-three-days road trip tonight at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena in Merritt against the Centennials before continuing on down to meet the Mainland Division bottom-dwelling Coquitlam Express on Sunday.
“The travel is a challenge. But we’re in a good frame of mind right now with our play, and we’ve got to keep that,” said Didmon.
