Post Game Recap – Mar. 28th, 2026

In their final regular season home game of the year, the Clippers fell 4–3 in overtime to Victoria. The visitors opened the scoring on the power play, but Nanaimo responded in the second with a man-advantage goal from Nicholas Morin—his first of the season—and a game-tying marker from Charles Beland. Tanner Bruender gave the Clippers their first lead in the third on the power play after Hayden Fechner drew a penalty. A late defensive breakdown allowed Victoria to tie the game 3–3 and force overtime. Just over a minute into the extra frame, Victoria scored the winner to secure the victory.

The game opened at a fast pace, with both teams trading early chances, but a bobbling puck and tight defensive play kept things scoreless in the opening minutes. Matthew Hutchison came up with a key moment for the Clippers, flashing the glove to rob a scoring opportunity and keep the game even. Nicholas Morin generated a quality chance of his own but sent his shot just wide of the mark. Midway through the period, the Clippers were assessed their first penalty, putting the home side shorthanded. Victoria capitalized on the opportunity, converting on the power play to take a 1–0 lead. The Clippers were given a chance to respond late in the frame with a man advantage of their own, but were unable to solve the Victoria netminder. After 20 minutes of play, it was 1–0 Victoria.

Before play resumed in the second period, a Grizzlies skater was assessed a 10-minute misconduct for disputing a call with the referee—though the infraction did not result in a power play for the Clippers. Nanaimo found themselves shorthanded early in the frame after taking the first minor penalty of the period, and Victoria capitalized once again, converting on the power play to extend their lead to 2–0. The Clippers responded quickly, earning a man advantage of their own and breaking through as Nicholas Morin buried his first goal of the season to cut the deficit in half. Momentum continued to swing in Nanaimo’s favor shortly after, as the Clippers appeared to find the back of the net again. Following a brief review, the goal was confirmed, with Charles Beland credited for the equalizer to tie the game at 2–2. After the early surge of offense, the remainder of the period settled into a more physical, penalty-filled stretch with limited scoring chances on either side.

Victoria pushed hard to open the third period, coming out with pace and pressure, but the Clippers held firm and weathered the early surge. Their resilience paid off when Hayden Fechner drew a power play after being hauled down on a partial breakaway. With the man advantage, Tanner Bruender capitalized, finding open ice and burying the go-ahead goal to give Nanaimo their first lead of the game.

The Clippers tightened things up defensively as the period progressed, doing well to protect the lead. However, a missed assignment off a faceoff late in regulation led to a scramble in front of Matthew Hutchison, and Victoria was able to jam home the equalizer to tie the game at 3–3.

With neither side able to find a winner in regulation, the game headed to overtime. Just over a minute into the extra frame, Victoria struck, scoring the game-winner to complete the comeback and secure a 4–3 victory.

Tanner Bruender, Artur Gross, and Reece Gault were named the three stars of the game. FortisBC Energy Player of the Game was awarded to Nicholas Morin.

The Clippers begin their playoff campaign on Friday, April 3rd and 4th at the Frank. Tickets can be purchased at Nanaimoclippers.com or the Frank Crane box office on game day.

-Malcolm Cooke

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