Ahh, the comforts of home.
The Victoria Grizzlies took an early lead and poured it on, scoring five times in the third period to beat Alberni Valley Bulldogs 9-2 at The Q Centre Monday night, staving off elimination in their best-of-seven B.C. Hockey League playoff series.
The Bulldogs still have a 3-2 edge in the series, which shifts back to Weyerhauser Arena for Game 6 tonight (March 11).
Leo Fitzgerald and Garrett Forster scored two goals each and Gerry Fitzgerald added four assists to lead the Grizzlies’ Game 5 attack. The output of goals was more than Victoria had scored in the previous four games combined.
They’ll have to keep the offence rolling tonight in order to get one more home game in the series. While the Grizzlies have lost their last three games in Port Alberni, including 4-0 and 3-1 decisions in games 3 and 4 of this series, scoring a boatload of goals there is not without precedent for the team.
Victoria beat the Bulldogs 9-5 at Weyerhauser back on Feb. 1.
There’s little rest for the teams in this series. Should Victoria win tonight, Game 7 comes back to The Q Centre on Wednesday night with puck drop at 7:15.
The series winner meets the Powell River Kings, 4-1 series winners over Nanaimo, in the next round starting March 14. Should the Grizzlies win, they’ll have home-ice advantage, but if the Bulldogs advance, the series opens in Powell River.
