The Clippers beat Victoria 3-1 in preseason play thanks to a strong second period the saw them score twice and outshoot the Grizzlies 25-9. (Dan Marshall)

By Dan Marshall

Clippers Sweep Weekend

Clippers win only home preseason game 3-1 over Grizzlies

Aug 24, 2019 | 4:31 PM

NANAIMO – The Clippers are 2-0 after the first weekend of BCHL preseason play.

They beat Victoria 3-1 in their only home contest of the exhibition schedule on Saturday.

That followed up up a 5-3 decision in Victoria on Friday.

Nanaimo was at their best in the second period on Saturday outshooting the Grizzlies 25-9 and getting goals from Devan Tongue and Sean Donaldson (on a penalty shot) to take control of the game,

The only blemish on a 32 save performance by Blake Wood was a Victoria power play goal at 19:59 of the middle frame.

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The only other goal came from second year defenceman Robby Drazner who opened the scoring for the Clippers in the first.

One of the camp battles that came to light over the course of the first weekend of the preseason is the fight for 20-year-old spots.

There are seven in camp and the team can only keep six.

Coach Darren Naylor remarked after Saturday’s game that the club was going to have some difficult decisions.

Final roster cut downs at every position will be difficult especially if the team continues to have success.

The Clippers will likely sit with just under 30 bodies heading into their final two preseason games next weekend.

They are in Langley to play the Rivermen on Friday, and will take on Coquitlam in Delta on Saturday afternoon.

Those last two games will be the final chance for players to show their stuff before the Clippers name their final roster ahead of the season opener on Sept. 6.

It’s also expected the team will announce it’s captains and assistant captains in the next few days.

Marcus Mitchell wore the ‘C’ last year and has now moved on to the NCAA.

Names like Ethan Scardina, Aiden Hansen-Bukata, Josh Bourne, and Devon Mussio will be in consideration as key returnees from last season.

NOTES: Ethan Scardina (2), Josh Bourne, Kyler Kovich, and Cade Cavallini scored the Clippers goals in Friday’s 5-3 victory.

Nanaimo’s annual Rhodesie Cup game saw Team Orange beat Team Black 4-3 on Wednesday. The intersquad game also raised $993 for KidSport Nanaimo.

dan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On twitter: @danmarshall77