By Malcom Cooke
The Nanaimo Clippers lost to the Victoria Grizzlies by a score of 3-2 on Friday night. Goaltender Chazz Nixon made 40 saves to keep the Clippers in the game even after they fell behind 2-0. Cole Lonsdale and Chase Hull scored for the Clippers, who now sit with a 2-3-1 record in the young season.
The Clippers appeared to score early, but it was waved off by the referee claiming he was in the process of blowing the whistle when the puck went in. The Grizzlies nearly scored in a similar fashion shortly after, their attempt was also blown dead. Victoria broke the deadlock several minutes into the first period after buzzing around Nanaimo’s net front. The Clippers were given an opportunity to tie the game on the powerplay when Grizzlies defenceman Brayden Smith was sent to the box for cross-checking. Despite multiple chances by the power-play unit, Nanaimo did not score. Next, the Clippers' penalty-kill unit would get some ice time after Patrick Fortune was booked for tripping. Victoria made the most of their powerplay as they scored again to give themselves a 2-0 lead. The first period came to a close with the Grizzlies leading on the scoreboard and the shot clock, outshooting the home team 16-11.
In the second period, the Grizzlies shifted to a more defensive game plan. The Clippers made attempts to penetrate their zone. Nanaimo was awarded their second power play of the game, after a post-whistle scuffle. On the power play the Clippers were kept to the outside for the duration of the two minutes, unable to score. Exactly one minute after the previous Victoria penalty expired they took another one, giving the Clippers their third power play chance. The third time was not the charm for the Clippers as they were unable to score with the extra skater. Chazz Nixon made a few dazzling saves near the end of the second period to keep the score at 2-0. Cole Lonsdale fired a shot that hit the twine late in the period to put Nanaimo on the board. The goal was set up by new addition Alex Hebblewaithe, who has been on a tear since joining the Clippers. The second period ended 2-1 with the Clippers showing some signs of life towards the end. The Grizzlies outshot the Clippers 17-9 for a two-period total of 33-20 in favour of Victoria.
Clipper defenceman Nathan Larioza was sent to the sin bin early in the third period, giving Victoria their second powerplay of the game. The Clippers penalty-kill unit was able to kill off the penalty and the play returned to 5 on 5. Nanaimo’s power-play unit had a fourth chance to score midway through the third. Chase Hull got the monkey off his back, scoring his first goal of the season, on the powerplay. The goal was Nanaimo’s first shot on the net in the third period. With the game now tied at 2-2 the Clippers appeared energized and poised for another goal. It would be the Grizzlies that broke the tie as they went up 3-2 despite Chazz Nixon’s best efforts to keep the puck out. A penalty against Victoria late in the third gave the Clippers their fifth power play chance of the evening in a crucial spot. Unfortunately, Nanaimo was held scoreless on their final powerplay of the game.
The three stars of the game were awarded to Reegan Hiscock, Chazz Nixon, and Malcolm Green. FortisBC Energy Player of the Game went to Alex Hebblewaithe.
The Clippers go on the road for their next three games before returning to The Frank on Friday, Oct. 18 against the Cowichan Valley Capitals. Tickets can be purchased at the Frank Crane box office on game day or at tickets.nanaimoclippers.com.
