Nanaimo Clippers 4 - 2 Victoria Grizzlies @ Frank Crane Arena, Sept 28th, 2012

Article by Tony Burrows:


Tonight's game against the Nanaimo Clippers did not go as planned! First inkling that it was not going to be a good night was when the rented bus that had been bringing a full load of avid Victoria fans to cheer for the Grizzlies broke down around Chemainus and the team bus had to go and rescue our fans. They did not arrive until the beginning of the second period! Second indication of a bad hair night was when Nanaimo scored less than 3 minutes into the game. This quietened the Grizz fans that had driven up and were not on the broken bus!! Thirdly it was one of those nights when the reffing was---shall we say politely---substandard! And lastly the team did not seem to have that killer spark that I had noticed in most of the preceeding games I had seen them play. Even in the third game of last week's grueling road trip to the mainland the energy and sharpness was there. It looked like it took a holiday tonight! And I have seen Mike Stilliadis have better games also.

But on the flipside, don't let me give you the impression that it was not a great game to watch. When Leo Fitzgerald scored from Myles Fitzgerald and DJ Jones 15 minutes into the second period both teams were tied 2/2 and the shots on goal were 19 Clips and 21 Grizz. Shortly after that the wheels fell off and the game became Clippers dictating the game and the Grizzlies scrambling to keep Nanaimo's Kramer from getting behind our defense! I guess from watching the previous games I have become used to our Grizzlies dictating the play to the other team and it sucks to watch them having trouble keeping up! So, Congratulations to the Nanaimo Clippers, and may our next game against Coquitlam on Saturday night be better! Tony


Attendence - 1523       Shots on Goal - Clippers 33 and Grizzlies 33
Powerplays - Grizzlies 1 for 9 and Clippers 1 for 8

3 Stars of the game -  * Kyle Kramer   ** Greg Fraser   *** Austin Dick