Bill Bestwick usually has to wait three games to witness his Victoria Grizzlies score seven goals, so it was very much an afternoon of riches in Sunday's 7-4 road victory over the Merritt Centennials.
Myles Powell had three goals and an assist, and Mark McLellan had a goal and three helpers in the offensive outburst, the highest single-game goal total for the B.C. Hockey League club this season.
Role players Jaden Schmeisser and Turner Lawson and defenceman D.J. Jones also scored for the Grizzlies, who were averaging just 2.65 goals per game heading into the team's third game in three days in the B.C. Interior.
"It was great to get the goals that were so desperately needed," said Bestwick, Victoria's general manager and head coach. "It was nice to score some goals for a change."
Powell got the Grizzlies going just 3: 04 in before McLellan, Jones and Schmeisser tallied in an 8: 34 stretch in the latter half of the first period to open up a 4-0 lead.
The Centennials fell behind 5-0 but managed to cut it to 6-4 early in the third period before Powell - who now has eight goals on the season - wrapped up the hat trick at 7: 51 of the final frame.
"We got off to the start that we hoped we would get," said Bestwick.
Brendan Lamont, Regan Soquila, Richard Sabourin and Sebastien Pare scored for Merritt, which falls to 10-4-1-1.
Victoria improves to 12-5-0-1 as the Grizzlies are now one-third of the way through the season and maintain first place in the Island Division, six points clear of Nanaimo and Alberni Valley.
The Grizzlies also jumped two spots in the Canadian Junior A Hockey League rankings to No. 10 in the country.
Bestwick's troops came out of the weekend with four of a possible six points, after losing the opener 4-2 in Trail on Friday and bouncing back for an impressive 3-2 double-overtime win in Penticton on Saturday.
"We did what was necessary to get the two points. Obviously, we didn't get off to the start we wanted to on this trip, but the win in Penticton was very gratifying and very important for this hockey club," Bestwick said.
The Grizzlies - who played Sunday without Nolan DeJong, Dante Hahn and goalie Mike Stiliadis - return home Friday to face the Cowichan Valley Capitals at 7: 15 p.m. at Bear Mountain Arena.
IN THE DEN: Grizzlies defenceman Mitch Meek, who scored his first BCHL goal on the weekend trip, was taken to hospital Sunday afternoon for precautionary measures after he fell backward and hit his head on the ice in the second period. He was released later that evening and returned home on Monday.
Twitter.com/tc_vicsports
