Grizzlies, Bulldogs tangle in Island BCHL contest

On paper, it was the dreaded game before the big game.

But the Victoria Grizzlies made sure they remained focused on the task at hand Friday night — beating the Island Division’s lastplace team, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.

Twenty-four hours before an Island Division first-place showdown with the Powell River Kings, the Grizzlies put their Island-best 14-4-2-3 record on the line against the Bulldogs (6-14-3-0) on Friday at The Q Centre.

Led by veteran Tyler Welsh, the home side beat the Bulldogs 4-1 in front of 989 fans, including plenty of parents, kicking off parents weekend.

The victory kept the Grizzlies even with the Kings in points with 35, but Victoria has two games in hand. The two teams square off tonight at The Q Centre.

After jumping out to a 2-0 firstperiod lead, the Grizzlies might have started to think ahead to tonight as the pesky Bulldogs kept up the pressure and cut the lead to one midway through the second, when Cayden Kraus buried a shorthanded breakaway past Grizzlies netminder Tony Rehm.

It stayed close until midway through the third, when Lucas Clark’s wrister from the slot sailed over the shoulder of Bulldogs goalie Brody Claeys.

Cam Thompson iced it for the Grizzlies with an empty-netter in the dying seconds.

“I think we just took our foot off the gas a little after we went up by two, but we quickly found out that those guys don’t quit and we had to grind one out to the end,” said Welsh, who scored his 13th and 14th goals of the season.

Playing without leading scorer Cole Pickup, who was serving his third of a four-game suspension, the Grizzlies moved Keyvan Mokhtari up to the top line with Welsh and Nathan Looysen, and it paid early dividends. Mokhtari set up both of Welsh’s goals and the line was threat on almost every shift.

“Keyvan brings a lot of speed so he keeps the defence honest, so it’s really nice to play with him,” said Welsh, who will head to the NCAA and Yale University next season.

The Grizzlies started newcomer Rehm in goal and, although he wasn’t busy facing 21 shots, he improved to 2-0 since coming over from the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Brooks Bandits last month.

The Grizzlies also put to work their league-best penalty-killing unit. The Bulldogs had five power plays but came up empty on all of them.

“We’ve been outworking teams on the kill, and it has really helped us and you saw that tonight,” added Walsh.

And now, it’s on to Powell River, which beat Trail 2-1 on Friday.

“They’re going to come here ready to play, we know that, so we’re going to have to get on them right off the hop and we’ll be OK,” Welsh said.

Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon said his team is still learning to put games away.

“Even when it was 3-1, [the Bulldogs] were pushing so we have to learn to follow up a good period with another,” Didmon said. “It’s a mental thing and we’re maturing and starting to be accountable to each other, and we turned it around and found a way.

“And it’s a tough weekend for us, so getting that first one was important and now we can move on with some confidence.”

After tonight’s game, the Grizzlies will host the Trail Smoke Eaters on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.