The Victoria Grizzlies locked up home ice advantage through the B.C. Hockey League’s Island Division playoffs by picking up a single point in West Kelowna on Saturday night.
Chase Stevenson’s second goal of the game proved the winner with 55 seconds to go in the first overtime, as the West Kelowna Warriors beat Victoria 3-2.
The Grizzlies entered the game needing only a single point to end the chances of Powell River catching them for the lead. The OT loss, in combination with a 4-1 Kings win over Nanaimo, left Victoria five points ahead with Powell River having just two games left.
After the Warriors took a 2-0 lead in the first period, Cole Pickup, with his 26th goal of the season, and Lucas Clark, with his 16th, pulled the visitors into a 2-2 tie to end the period.
The Grizzlies’ Tony Rehm and Warriors Gabriel Morency blanked their opponents through the next two periods. Morency finished with 40 saves, while Rehm chalked up 29.
The Grizzlies finish off their Interior road swing tomorrow (Feb. 19) in Penticton then play a home and home against Nanaimo there Friday and in Colwood next Saturday.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
