Wednesday, May 6, 2009

BCHL teams battle at the RBC Cup

Press Release

VICTORIA, B.C. – It was expected to be one of the best games of the round robin, and Tuesday night’s contest between the Vernon Vipers and Victoria Grizzlies did not disappoint.

After Vernon’s Mike Collins tied the game with just 1:48 remaining it was Cole Ikkala who got the overtime winner, scoring 7:13 into the extra frame to give the Vipers a thrilling 5-4 win over the Grizzlies in a battle of BCHL rivals at the 2009 RBC Cup.

After having his first attempt blocked Ikkala snapped a shot from the slot past the blocker of Victoria netminder Anthony Grieco, giving the Pacific Region champions their third win in as many tries at this year’s National Junior A Championship.

Chris Crowell, Bryce Kakoske and Kellen Jones also scored for the Vipers, who erased a 4-2 deficit with a pair of third period goals.

Brian Nugent, Sam Higgins and Jonathan Milhouse scored goals in a span of 2:43 late in the second period for the Grizzlies as Victoria turned a 2-1 hole into a 4-2 lead in quick succession. Cody Bremner had the other goal for the tournament hosts, who suffered their second heartbreaking loss in three games.

The Grizzlies will wrap up their round robin on Wednesday night when they face winless Summerside (7 p.m. PT), while the Vipers will enjoy an off day Wednesday after playing three games in as many days. They’ll finish their preliminary schedule when they take on Kingston on Thursday (2 p.m. PT).

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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