Mike Moran scored three times and added an assist to lead the Victoria Grizzlies to a 7-5 come from behind victory over the visiting Chilliwack Chiefs Saturday night.
It was the fourth straight loss for the Chiefs (4-4-0-1) who led the game 5-2 in the second period.
The goals game fast and furious to start the game as both teams found the back of the net twice before the game was four minutes old.
Moran opened the scoring for the Grizzlies just 45 seconds in when he beat Chiefs goaltender Bryton Udy with a deke in tight. Wade Murphy and Taylor Pernerowski picked up the helpers.
It took the Chiefs just 37 seconds to draw even when Jeremy Gossard snapped home a rebound. Assists went to Malcolm Gould and David Thompson.
Sixty seven seconds later Moran potted his second of the night, seventh of the season on the power play to give the Grizzlies a 2-1 lead. Jarryd Ten Vaanholt and Cam Lawson earned the assists.
Again the Chiefs answered quickly when Mike Berry’s point shot found the back of the net just 50 seconds later to knot the game at two. It was Berry’s second goal of the season with assists going to Trevor Hills and Garrett Forster.
The Chiefs earned their first lead of the game at the 9:29 mark when Kit Sitterley knocked in his own rebound. Forster and Thompson assisted.
Through twenty minutes Chilliwack held an 11-7 advantage in shots.
Malcolm Gould made it three straight goals for Chilliwack when he notched his second goal of the season just 88 seconds into the second period. The goal, the Chiefs fourth shorthanded goal of the season, was unassisted.
Gould then played the role of play maker taking a pass from Thompson and quickly feeding it cross crease to David Bondra who made no mistake, scoring his third of the season to put the Chiefs up 5-2. The goal, at 4:46 was scored while the Chiefs enjoyed a two man advantage.
The Grizzlies then staged a comeback getting goals by Pernerowski on the power play and Moran, who completed the hat trick to bring the score to 5-4 Chilliwack after two periods.
Victoria tied the game at five at 1:27 of the third period when Dante Godinho’s shot from the center slot found its way through three sets of legs including Udy’s. Chase Keiser picked up the only assist.
The Grizzlies completed the comeback when Alex Holland knocked in a rebound with just under nine minutes gone in the third period. Sean Robertson made a nice play driving wide left and putting a backhand on the Chiefs net to create the rebound. Cam Lawson was also credited with an assist.
Chilliwack pulled Udy with 80 seconds left in the third but Holland scored his second straight into an empty net to make the final 7-5.
The Chiefs outshot the Grizzlies 31-22.
Chilliwack was 1/5 on the power play and 5/7 on the penalty kill.
Chilliwack finishes the weekend Sunday in Nanaimo. Game time is 3pm.
