Flying Under The Radar, Grizzlies Saga Continues

Before we start this BCHL Grizzlies blog I have just one thing to say:  The CFL's Ottawa Rough Riders (I will never call them the Renegades or the Red Blacks or whatever they are supposed to be called these days) are going to the Grey Cup next Sunday!!!  OK, I am done now, back to the Grizzlies.



Could a repeat of the 1981 Grey Cup avenge #77 Tony Gabriel's outrageous, "Triple Offensive Pass Interference" call?

As this Grizzlies Club approaches the halfway mark of the 2015/16 season, if I had to sum up the season in one word I would say: "under the radar".  OK, fine, that's technically three words but you get the idea.

I recently noticed something which may prove my point.  Have you seen the latest Subway Poll on the BCHL Web Site?  The latest poll asks BCHL fans to decide whom they think is the BCHL's fastest skater. I enjoy these polls and I never, ever pass up an opportunity to cast a vote. But Keyvan Mokhtari didn't even make the list for some reason.  That tells me that the Grizzlies are literally flying at tree top level at this point in the 2015/16 season.  Nobody is paying any attention to this team and that suits me just fine. 

So why is that?  Why are the Grizzlies off of everyone's radar?  With all due respect to any Eagles fans reading this blog, if your team starts the year 1-10 and one of your losses is at home vs South Surrey and your "1-10 team" also sports the league worst Powerplay with the most SHGA, chances are that you won't be turning too many heads.

Nope, as we approach the halfway mark on this season, I think it is safe to say that the Victoria Grizzlies may be the least talked about team in the league by BCHL pundits.  And that also suits me just fine.

But here is what is really interesting to me:  the Grizzlies are now 6-3-0-1 in their last ten games, which makes them the hottest team in the Island Division over that period of time.  Remember too that during that stretch, the Grizzlies lost twice to the Trail Smoke Eaters for reasons which still elude even the most knowledgeable BCHL experts.  In short, the Grizzlies are doing just fine for a team which returned only 6 veterans who played for all of last season.

Alleged designer of Grizzlies 2015/16 Schedule

What is also pretty impressive is that due to a Machiavellian designed schedule, the Grizzlies have played no less than two straight 3 game back to back sets in 8 days and five of those six games were on the road.  Its not a season, its more like an ancient saga.  They are accomplishing all of this with a Powerplay which has surrendered a league high 9 SHGA and is running at 7.81% efficiency on the road.   That is pretty unbelievable and when you think about it.

So how is this possible you ask?  here is how:

Nov 10 - Grizzlies 5 at Powell River 2. The Grizzlies, after nearly vomiting their entire way across the Strait of Georgia in one of the worst storms since Hurricane Katrina lead by Alex Peck, (Miley Cyrus's inspiration to the song "Wrecking Ball") and owner of the most sick jersey number in the BCHL, scored a SHG and an assist, an act which single handily doubled his season's offensive totals in one game.  He, along with his billet buddy, Brett Stirling on D, lead the club in breaking the collective spirit of the Kings to see the Grizzlies enjoy the first Regular Season win at The Hap Parker in almost two years.

Nov 13 - Grizzlies 3 at Coquitlam 4 (OT 2). Coming from behind, the Grizzlies force OT at the "Poirier Pin-Ball Palace" lead by the Smoothie Line of Gelsinger, Hahn and Livingstone along with the young and speedy Tyler Welsh and Keyvan Mokhtari, two players who also lead the league in "most hours spent in deep REM sleep" while travelling in a BCHL team bus this season.

Captain PJ Conlon with D-Day Veteran in Coquitlam on 13 Nov

Nov 14 - Grizzlies 3 at Merritt 2.  While playing in the league's smallest ice surface, towering 6'5'' forward Spencer Hunter's 2nd period blistering wrist shot from the top of the circle would find the net. The shot and ensuing goal which would normally have measured at 30' in most arenas but was closer to 10' at the Nicola Valley, would be credited to rookie phenom Welsh.  Welsh who was somehow confused by the referee with the "somewhat taller" Spencer Hunter, was not only on the bench at the time of the goal but was to his credit, like his line mate Mokhtari, wide awake and out of any REM sleep at the time of the go ahead marker by his more vertically endowed team mate. But the club would neither care nor complain about the box score or win and instead travel all night, arriving in Trail like frat house students at 7am the following morning to sleep about 3 hours before playing the Smokies at 3pm.

Grizzlies @0630 posing upon arrival at their Rossland BC chalet on 15 Nov

Nov 15 - Grizzlies 1 at Trail 2.  After team +/- leader, Dante Hahn (+11) would give the Grizz a first period 1-0 lead, the Grizzlies would suddenly realize in the second period that they were playing on about 15 minutes of sleep and fail to hold on, surrendering a crushing SHGA in the second and lose a squeaker at the oldest rink in the BCHL (Cominco Arena 1949).  They would then travel all night and look far worse than anything National Lampoon could ever conjure boarding a BC Ferry the next morning at Tswassen.  All the while knowing that they would be facing the Clippers at The Frank on Wednesday.

Nov 18 - Grizzlies 1 at Nanaimo 5.  Trailing 3-1 with one minute to play, the Grizzlies would give up the puck on  a bit of late high risk play in an effort to come back vs the always offensively powerful Clippers.  The good news was that the Grizzlies PP went 1 for 3 on the night on the strength of Cole Pickup's 8th goal on the season from Conlon and Massy.  The Grizzlies would outshoot the Clippers 31-27 in a game much closer than the score would indicate.

Nov 19 - Trail 3 at Grizzlies 2.  With a first period PP goal by Pickup and a short handed maker by Mokhtari (possible Goal of the Year candidate), the Grizzlies would squander a 2-0 lead and lose the game to a Smoke Eaters team who had apparently seen the movie Animal House and instead chose to travel the day prior in order to save bus legs. Trail would outlast the travel weary Grizzlies team who were running on less fumes than a Chrysler Cordova during the Carter Administration's 79' Oil Crisis.



#15 - Mokhtari's 19 Nov SHG vs Trail on Goal of The Year?

 

Nov 20 - Capitals 2 at Grizzlies 6.  In front of a season high nearly 1,200 fans at the Q Centre on Military Appreciation Night and with Coach Didmon completely changing around his line combinations, the Grizzlies would have a coming out party in a number of areas. Brayden Gelsinger would net 4 points on the night while Mokhtari would earn 3 himself.  But the story of the night was Chuck Bennis's impression of the WWE's "The Undertaker" as he gave Ayden MacDonald every reason to suddenly "come down with the flu" on the morning of 12 Jan, 2016 for the teams' next scheduled meeting.  The fight was so one-sided and primordial in nature, after breaking the internet on Saturday morning, YouTube put out a new directive forbidding the posting of any hockey fight videos containing the words "Chuck Bennis", "The Undertaker" or "This video hurts my eyes" until further notice.



BCHL pundits have suggested that this image may be the source of an expected flu epidemic at the ISC on 12 Jan, 2016

By the way, I never did cast a vote in that BCHL poll.  How do you vote in a poll which was missing the correct answer?  Go Renegades! -CC





       





 

Main Camp 2015 Preview

Grizzlies Main Camp opens in less than two weeks and as promised, I want to take a moment and map out how I see camp shaping up in terms of what the roster is beginning to look like.  First the bad news: it looks certain now that Matt Baker, arguably the Grizzlies’ top off-season prospect has decided to play with the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders of the USHL.  It was hoped that the 2016/17 Dartmouth College committed forward would sign with the Grizzlies, but Baker has opted for the USHL and we wish him luck.  Now the good news, the team still has a lot of fresh faces and new talent, so let’s examine the club.

 

First in the vacated position of goal:  The #1 spot in net for the Grizzlies will likely be filled by 97’ born Matthew Galajda from St.Andrew’s College.  Galajda posted stellar back to back years at prep school, winning a pair of 13/14 championships (CISAA and MPHL) in the process.  He could easily have played in the BCHL last year but opted for one more year of prep. In 42 games last year, Galajda posted a 1.40 GAA and a very impressive .938 SVS%.  Galajda will be challenged in net by two other newcomers, Mitchel Benson (MM Victory Honda) and Aidan Doak (Revelstoke Grizzlies KIJHL).  Benson a 97’ born Windsor, Ont native, may earn the coveted backup role for the Grizzlies with his solid 1.97 GAA and .926 SVS% with Victory Honda.  But don’t rule out Doak who had a very good year last season playing in Jr.B.  Doak’s 11-5-0 record combined with a 2.48 GAA and .918 SV% was impressive, especially on a Revelstoke team which plays in that ultra-competitive Doug Birks Division.  Goal may end up being the most competitive position at Main Camp.

 

In spite of the mass exodus of defensemen in the off-season, the defensive corps, lead by returning veterans Kevin Massy and Cody Van Lierop looks surprisingly strong.  Why that is so is by virtue of the three completely new names coming to camp, plus two others who are a bit more familiar to Grizzlies fans.  The familiar faces are 98’ born Drayson Pears (West Shore Wolves 47-6-18-24) and 97’ born Mark Krabben (Okanagan Rockets BCMML 79-9-21-30 over two seasons).  Krabben had a solid final year in BC Major Midget and is expected to make the club and feature in the third defensive pairing.  Pears who has worked incredibly hard over the past year in Jr. B, will likely be slotted into the 6^th or 7^th D spot on the roster.

 

The new faces on defence are Jake Stevens 96’, Brett Stirling 96’ and Calvin Walker 97’.  Stevens, who hails from Naperville Illinois, is another Lake Forest product and is an ex-teammate of Cody Van Lierop.  But unlike his Canadian counterpart, Stevens played 57 games over a full four years in prep.  Brett Stirling, a 2012 draft pick of the Peterborough Petes, is an Aurora Ont native.  He is a 2 year veteran of the Salisbury School prep team in the USHS.  Prior to that, he was with St. Andrews College of the MPHL in 2012.  As BCHL rookies, Stirling may end up paired with Stevens, but both 19 year-olds are certainly ready for the BCHL and both will probably see a lot of ice time as top 4 D-Men on the club.

 

Finally there is Calvin Walker.  Walker also from St. Andrews College amassed (96-5-41-46) totals in two seasons of prep. Walker may be like a younger Kevin Massy.  He is a big, physical and imposing defenseman with a right handed shot who skates very well.  He will fight for a spot in that second D pairing and he may see some time on the right point of the Second PP Unit.  Regardless you can expect to see Walker as a regular on the blue line this coming season.

 

The forwards will be lead by Brayden Gelsinger who the Grizzlies picked up from the West Kelowna Warriors in last month’s Garrett Forster trade.  A natural left winger, he could be joined on the first line by returning veterans Cole Pickup and PJ Conlon.  That said, there will be several new forwards at Main Camp who offer lots of offense.  Start with the 96’ born Kirkland QC native, Corey Iapalucci.  “Lucci” as he is known, is a former WSHL Ogden (Utah) Mustang (41-18-35-53) and is a natural centre.  He is a gifted passer and play maker who will compete for the Grizzlies top line centre position. 

 

Iapalucci will likely play the role of set-up man on a scoring or PP line with 97’ born and St. Andrews College graduate J.D. Falconer who will likely assume the role of finisher on the line.  Falconer, a natural shooter who can also play centre, posted solid career numbers of (110-69-61-130) for an impressive 1.18 ppg during his two years at St. Andrews College.  The other new name as a potential 3^rd member of this line could be 97’ born Ontario native, Joseph Visconti.  Visconti, a right handed shooter, played in Illinois last year in the MPHL with Lake Forest. He has scored at every level thus far.  Visconti (24-9-6-15), much like nearly all of the new names mentioned, was ready to play in the league last year but chose to finish off the academic side of the his NCAA eligibility before moving up to Jr. A.

 

Returning veteran forwards Spencer Hunter (98), Mitchell Barker (96) and Nick Guiney (96) will likely provide 3^rd line and PK support among other roles.  Those returning forwards will battle for spots on that line with a couple of new faces, 96’ born American imports, Alex Peck and Sage Fleming. Peck, a Vermont native, played with Detroit’s Victory Honda last year and posted (28-8-16-24) in Tier 1 Elite Major Midget.  Fleming, from Costa Mesa California, played in the NAPHL in 13/14 for the Anaheim Jr. Ducks and put up good numbers in U16.

 

One surprise returnee to Grizzlies Camp this year, will be Nathan Looysen.  Looysen who played 57 games in 13/14 for the Kamloops Blazers, played 7 games as a Grizzly last year before being moved on Halloween 2014 to the Peninsula Panthers where he dominated Jr.B.  He ended up with the Victoria Cougars as that club loaded up for the 2015 VIJHL Playoffs.  Looysen, who had been linked last season with a possible move to the Cowichan Valley Capitals will compete for a Grizzlies roster spot again this year. 

 

But the two forwards whom I am really exited to see at camp are Tyler Welsh (97) and Keyvan Mokhtari (98).  Welsh if you remember played in that one call-up game in January at the Hap Parker where he scored in his first shift (and his first shot) in the BCHL.  But just as impressive, he co-lead the entire VIJHL last year in Regular Season assists with no less than 58 helpers on route to his 75 point season for the eventual Champions of the VIJHL.  The other name who is new to a lot of Grizzlies fans is Mokhtari.  The 98’ born forward played 3 games as an AP with Trail last year but was most impressive with the Burnaby Winter Club as he put up huge numbers vs the elite talent he faced with (22-19-17-36) for a 1.64 ppg pace.  Mokhtari played well at the Grizzlies Spring Camp in June.  It will be interesting to see how the talented 17 year-old plays against the somewhat bigger and more established BCHL talent at Main Camp.

 

And forget not that the Victoria Royals Major Midget Camp just ended on Sunday.  There were loads of young players on hand who will also get an invite to Grizzlies Main Camp on the 21st of Aug, each ready to push the veterans.

 

Until then, I look forward to seeing you all along the glass and along the rail next Saturday at Main Camp.  The new-look stability and professionalism of the club's Front Office and Coaching Staff will finally be matched this year by the talent on the ice, a great recipe for success.  See you next week. -CC

Grizzlies Mid-Season Report Card: B

General Overview:

 

After winning the Island Division Championship last year and only narrowly missing out on advancing to the Fred Page Cup, expectations were high for the Victoria Grizzlies coming into this season.  Yet it starts to become clear that the Grizzlies are a team full of contradictions.  On the one hand the team is 13-10-0-5, good for a .554 winning percentage, and in 4^th Place in the Island Division, still in contact with the division leaders, but they have let too many games slip away all year. At first glance you might say that a record like that is one of an underperforming team, especially when you consider where they were last year.  But looks can be deceiving.


Photo Credit: Christian J. Stewart

Remember that the Grizzlies have already completed two road trips into the Interior to play those statistically superior teams, a feat no other Island Division club has done thus far.  Remember also that this team lost not one, not two, but all three of its top point getters from last year. Remember too that the Grizzlies changed almost all defensemen from a year ago and lost both goalies, including LA Kings NHL draft pick, Alec Dillon to the USHL’s Tri City Storm.

 

So there is the first major contradiction. They may appear  to be underperforming to some degree, but to seasoned BCHL analysts, its pretty clear that the team has faired well considering. Remember this Grizzlies team has faced the BCHL’s runaway favorites, the Penticton Vees twice this season already. Yes they lost both games, but it was with a combined aggregate score of 6-4. And in the second game they went to Double OT and earned a point. With all that in mind, here is how I see the club at the hallway point:

 

Offence

 

When I speak of offence, I am mostly talking about forwards but not exclusively. A quality attack is usually only as good as the first pass out of the zone, so the defensemen do fall under this heading to a degree.  The Grizzlies boast four players, Gibson, Mackie, Gruber and Forster all of whom are averaging over a single point/game and there are two more players who are very close, Matt Kennedy (0.9pts/gm) and D man, Meirs Moore (0.8pts/gm).

 

Photo Credit: Christian J. Stewart

With 100 goals scored in 28 games, the team is averaging 3.57 gls/gm and on track for a goal total in the neighborhood of around 207 goals. In comparison, last year with the Fitzgerald triplets and breakout rookie forward, Jesse Schwartz, the Grizzlies scored 212 times. In 2012-2013, the team only scored 189 times. In other words, one year removed, the Grizzlies offence hasn’t missed a step and in fact is more potent that the 2012/13 squad under then first time Head Coach Bill Bestwick. Both those teams were strong in the BCHL playoffs. In short, the Triplets have been capably replaced and this team spreads scoring around its roster very well.

 

Statistics aside, the team has two very capable lines who can often score for fun when they want. The third line has changed many times, but recently has featured what I call “The Rookie Kid Line” with 16 year old Spencer Hunter centering Mitch Barker and Ayden MacDonald. The line I am really keen on however is the 4th line. I predict that this recently assembled line of P.J. Conlon, Cole Pickup and Nick Guiney will play a significant role in the playoffs as they have shown great promise so far. They are not a typical grinding 4^th line, this group can score and could move up a slot to earn 3^rd line duties.

 

Defensemen Meirs Moore, Zach Dixon, Kevin Massy and newcomer Jake Emilio have all contributed well offensively from the blue line. Moore is silky smooth and Dixon has a cannon.

 

Grade A- (Trend: Status Quo)

 

Defense:

 

The only defensemen remaining from last year’s squad is Kevin Massy. That depleted group alone should be cause for serious concern. But in September, then GM and Head Coach Brad Knight though different.  He chose to deal Victoria natives Brandon Egli (53-11-24-35) and Mitch Meek (45-1-18-19) to Vernon for 20 year old offensive D-Man Jake Emilio and former Richmond Sockeyes rookie forward, Ayden MacDonald.  It would take weeks to get a look at Emilio who arrived injured in the deal, but in time he has proven to be a capable and confident puck moving defenseman.

 

The remainder of the players on the blue line have done remarkably well considering how almost none of them really knew one and other before Main Camp in August.  Enter 20 year old Duluth Minn native and BCHL rookie, Meirs Moore, a smooth passing and skating defender who oozes confidence. The talkative, Moore has quickly become one of the key Quarterbacks on the PP along with the more subdued but hard hitting and hard shooting Zach Dixon. Chris Harpur, Cody Van Lierop and Justin Sadler round out the D Corps well, with solid stay at home play. They are all solid.

 

Photo Credit: Christian J. Stewart

 

The knock on the defense though is really an admonishment of the entire team this year, the goals scored against. At 107, it is simply too high for a team this good, a team which only averages 10.86 penalty minutes per game. That GAA is too high and represents the Grizzlies biggest challenge in the stretch run to the playoffs. The GAA has slowly been trending upward all season and this trend must change. Fire Wagon hockey games like the 8-7 OT win over Merritt may please the fans, but it won’t win anything over the long term. The 10-4 road loss to Trail was clearly unacceptable, but so too was the defensive performance they showed when they hosted Trail two weeks later, albeit winning 6-5. 

 

While goals against are obviously not entirely a function of the defensemen alone, the Grizzlies have a bad habit of scrambling in their own end when fore-check pressure is heavy and sustained.  The new coaching regime of Craig Didmon will no doubt address much of that in the coming weeks, but a holistic team approach to this problem is required.

 

Grade B (Trend: Improving)

 

Goal:

 

With the departure of 6’6” Alec Dillon in the offseason along with his heir apparent Nick Renyard, the Grizzlies literally had a big hole to fill in net. Returning from the 12/13 Season, the Grizzlies re-acquired Michael Stiliadis and then picked up 19 year-old newcomer, Sean Cleary. Cleary has shown moments of brilliance in 11 starts (3-5), especially his 15 Nov start at West Kelowna where he faced the daunting task of leading the team on the road after the aforementioned 10-4 loss the night before in Trail. In spite of the loss, Cleary was very strong and kept the team in the game late, helping earn the team’s only point during that forgettable Interior swing. Cleary needs more starts and he should get more as the team moves into the stretch run.



Photo Credit: Christian J. Stewart

 

Stiliadis (10-10) is your prototypical BCHL net minder, quiet, prefers to be out of the lime light, but works hard in practice and can be relied upon night in and night out. He is also capable of making the really big save. But Stiliadis sports a save percentage of .874 and while that is very close to his 12/13 numbers as the Grizzlies #1, his GAA this year (3.90) is almost a full goal higher than that of Cleary (3.15). Stiliadis is much better than those numbers bear and he along with the rest of the team in front of him need to bring those numbers down moving forward.

 

Grade C+ (Trend: Improving)

 

Special Teams:

 

The Grizzlies' PP lead the BCHL in efficiency for nearly the entire first half of the season. It now sits firmly in 3rd position at 25.42%, an excellent number, especially considering the departure of the Triplets who often made PK units look foolish over the last two seasons. This PP unit is simple, it doesn't get too fancy, it moves the puck very well and involves the point appropriately, never holding on to the puck too long before taking an intelligent shot on goal.

Photo Credit: Christian J. Stewart

 

The Penalty Kill (10th in BCHL) is also a sound unit, even without PK specialist Storm Wahlrab who is sidelined for the next 2-3 weeks. The PK sits at 78.33%, which is OK, but remember this year the PK boasts no less than 7 SHGF and last year the club could only muster 4 SHGF on the whole season. This unit could easily score well over 10 short handed goals before the playoffs start. And remember, when they think of the PK unit, most people forget to subtract those "Shorties" from the totals for Goals Against on the PK. That correction changes the math around significantly and it is what most coaches use to properly assess a team's PK in the pros.

 

Grade A (Trend: Improving slightly)

 

Coaching and GM Moves

 

The elephant in the room which nobody wants to acknowledge is that the Grizzlies, aside from the Vipers's quiet pre-season Head Coaching change, were the first team to change coaches.  The move was a massive shock to many, myself included. I wish Brad Knight well and he spoke well recently to local media in his departure interview, he will be back in this league one day. That said, I wasn't at the Nicola Valley Arena on 19 Oct, 2014 when the Grizzlies lost in the dying seconds in OT. I will never know what really happened after the game, but the team's Head Coach was suspended 3 games by the BCHL after that game and that fact is simply unacceptable for any Head Coach in any league.  A leader must always keep his head.  In summation, clearly things were not all well "down at the Circle K" and a regime change was inevitable.

 

Now let me preface everything I am about to say by acknowledging the fact that I don't see the team books. But simply from a business model point of view, I wasn't initially a big fan of the trade with Vernon and I am still not. I like Pete Zubersky as a hockey man, but when he came in to take over last December in the wake of Bill Bestwick's sudden departure, the team promised a return to recruiting local island talent and bringing the team closer to the Westshore community.

 

Then quick as a flash the club did two very strange things. It went out and immediately brought in a large number of off island talent.  But then it made a very strange trade moving two local products away. Those were local players who would not incur billet fees and they were traded for two out of town acquisitions who do indeed cost the club billet funds. True, Zubersky is no longer with the team, and the trade I question was a Brad Knight move. But the effect on the team budget both from new billet fees and a departure of the Egli/Meek family and friends must be felt to some degree.  To sum up, I criticise the move from a business model point of view and also because it sent a mixed message of "Say one thing, do another".

Photo Credit: Christian J. Stewart

 

Now GM and HC Craig Didmon is back, technically for the third time and already he has brought in Nick Guiney, a local JDF product. Good start. In just two games he has demonstrated an ability to right the ship and has shown the capacity to quickly restore confidence and fun on the bench and I suspect the Dressing Room. That is huge.

 

Players are smiling again and while it is only a 2-0 record under Coach Didmon, the team has already seen a modest bump in attendance.  And that last statistic, attendance, is really the most important stat of them all in many ways and could tell the tale of how this team does moving forward.

 

Grade: F (Trend: Improving significantly)

 

Summation:

 

For a change I will be brief. This team has an identity now. The Grizzlies are now officially "that team I sure hope we don't face in the playoffs."  I guarantee every Island Division team, aside from Cowichan (unlikely to make playoffs) now feels that way about the Grizzlies. Nobody wants to run into this team, which is slowly but surely improving in every area of performance and has a restored confidence throughout the entire organization.

 

If the goals against can drop even just a bit and if the scoring keeps up, the Grizzlies will catch most of the leaders in the Island Division and will likely finish well above 4th spot before the playoffs start.

 

Overall Team Grade: B (Trend: Improving) -CC

 

 

 

      

The Long Trip Home: A Recap of the Three-Game Interior Road Swing

     We have all experienced that strange feeling after a long trip. That sensation of not enjoying nearly as much the return journey as the outbound leg. There is just something a bit more special about any trip anywhere, whether by plane, train or automobile when its the first day. The car smells fresher, the clothes feel better, even the flight attendants seem nicer on the trip to London rather than the flight home. And no matter how much fun we had on the vacation, business junket, or Junior Hockey Road trip, that final leg home is always the least memorable. It just is. Well I didn't travel with the team this past weekend, so I can't say for certain, but my bet would be that the trip down the Coquihalla tonight for the Grizzlies will be an extremely quiet one as they try to make that last ferry to the island.

     Trust me, that is what a team bus sounds like after it has been outscored 18-7 in three straight road games, while the team collects 48 mins in penalties including 3 Game Misconducts and your leading scorer gets a two game suspension. Those bus rides are not very fun. They rarely feature team pranks with players being forced to sing Ariana Grande songs out loud at the front of the bus, in front of giggling fellow team mates and coaches. You know those fun acts of good natured personal humiliation in support of adding to the growing sense of high team morale, those ones? No, my guess is that the only Ariana Grande tunes on the bus were being played very quietly in a headset.

     It would have been so much better a trip home had the Grizzlies found a way to pull out a win or even a tie in Vernon today, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. 5-1 to the Vipers was how the final score read at the Kal Tire Place today before that aforementioned homeward journey began for the Grizzlies. Even the skate sharpening machine feels heavier than usual as you load it under the bus after a weekend like that.

     So what happened on a weekend of nine periods of hockey whereby the first period in Trail on Friday night ended with the visiting Grizzlies holding the home team to only two shots on net? If you asked me to assess how it was going at that point on Friday evening with the score at 0-0 in Trail and with the Grizzlies up 5-2 in the shot count, I would have told you that I thought the Grizzlies were on their way to having one heck of a great road trip. That's what I would have told you.

     But something funny happened on the way to a great road trip this past weekend and it happened right when everything was going just ducky too. That would be the moment that referee Ward Pateman put Cody Van Lierop in the box for a minor penalty for Holding after only 27 seconds of play in the 2nd period. The ensuing penalty kill for Victoria wasn't good enough but neither were the next twenty minutes of play, easily the worst period of hockey for the organization this campaign. It was a period of collapse for the Grizzlies, ending with a score of 8-2 for Trail and one which featured an Ayden MacDonald 5 minute major penalty and a Game Misconduct for a Blow To the Head.  Not what the coaches drew up in the game plan to be sure.

     The Trail game was effectively over at the end of the second period and while the contest included another inspiring Matt Kennedy shorthanded goal for the Grizzlies, it was little consolation for a team which was facing an opening night of a road trip with an ugly 10-4 loss on the books. The other long term issue though was Storm Wahlrab. He would not play on Saturday night vs West Kelowna or feature on Sunday vs Vernon due to an apparent injury picked up during a on ice hit in the Friday loss. So the plan was to get to bed, call it a night, shrug off the loss and look to West Kelowna on Saturday.

     A push back effort indeed was not only what the doctor ordered but what the Grizzlies delivered early on Saturday night at Royal LePage Place. The Grizzlies opened the scoring, just a minute and a half into the game with a beautiful Dane Gibson stickhandling no-move play in the crease to beat West Kelowna goalie Andy Desautels. The lead was soon extended to 2-0 by Jake Emilio. Fresh off two points in Trail on Friday night, the 20 year old defenseman scored after a long but accurate point shot on the Power Play, a shot which somehow found the back of the net. The Grizzlies were rolling after the first period, up 2-0 on the Warriors. And just like Friday night after one period, all looked well.

     But it would not last. The Grizzlies would once again get into penalty trouble in the second frame. By the end of the period in spite of 21 minutes of Grizzlies penalties and Game Misconducts to both Dane Gibson and Chris Harpur, Sean Cleary would turn away all 15 of West Kelowna's shots and the score would remain intact at 2-0 Grizzlies.

     However, the third period was better than the last time these two teams met on 26 Oct at the Q Centre. That was the day when West Kelowna stormed back to steal a win after being down 3-0 early. The 3rd period in West Kelowna on Saturday night would not see a home goal until almost 14 minutes into the final frame. At that moment Jordan Masters would strike after a scramble in front of Cleary. Masters who was victim to the previous Chris Harpur Checking From Behind penalty, had recovered from an apparent knee injury from the hit to grind out the 3rd period goal and put West Kelowna in a position to tie the hockey game.

     Sadly, with the net empty and only 20 seconds left on the clock, an away win in regulation was denied to Victoria as Jonathan Desbiens managed to beat Cleary with yet another mad scramble goal. So off to OT once again were the Grizzlies. In the first OT, after a hopeful P.J. Conlon rush was stopped, West Kelowna would end the contest when former WHL player and Team Captain Andrew Johnson repeated what he did to Victoria on that fateful 26 October home loss. He scored the game winning goal, this time in OT and for the second time in less than three weeks, he broke the hearts of the Grizzlies. But the performance as a whole was inspiring and Victoria could easily say that they deserved better, especially after the debacle in Trail the night before. In all honesty, even a heartbreaking OT loss, did not seem that bad, the Grizzlies played with heart.

     So off to Vernon on Sunday afternoon and a chance for the Grizzlies to face former players and Victoria natives, Mitch Meek and Brandon Egli, now dressed in the bright bumble bee yellow and blue 3rd Jerseys of the Vipers. Yuck! But remember, by then the Grizzlies were without the services of power forward Dane Gibson who had been handed down a BCHL 2 game suspension for his Blow To The Head penalty from the night before on Warriors forward Kylar Hope.

     Without the services of both Gibson and Wahlrab, the Grizzlies suddenly were facing a quick skating Vipers team without both its leading scorer and one of the team's primary Penalty Kill experts. And it didn't take long to notice the two big missing Victoria forwards. Not only did Vernon score first on a first period Power Play goal by TJ Dumonceaux, but earlier in the period two big hits on Grizzlies players Matt Kennedy and Jay Mackie went largely unchallenged and really set the tone for the rest of the game.

     Then in a scoreless second period, at the 14:40 mark, Colton McCarthy in a Vernon jersey for the very first time since being picked up off the Prince Albert Raiders, showed no signs of rust despite not playing in a competitive hockey game for over a month. McCarthy would make it 2-0 Vipers on a rebound off Michael Stiliadis from a Mitch Meek point shot. The goal would stand up as the only scoring in the period and the game still hung in the balance with the visitors only down 2-0 after two periods.

     But any question of a Grizzlies comeback was soon dashed early in the 3rd period as the Vipers would score just minutes in by way of a Trevor Fidler tally with a totally defensive Stiliadis off his feet in the crease. That would make it 3-0 and effectively finish off the game. But Vernon wanted more and they very soon added another, this time by Luke Shiplo at the 4:10 mark. After all five Grizzlies skaters found themselves at one point on the left side of Stiliadis's left face off dot, each chasing down Liam Finlay and Mitch Meek, Shiplo suddenly found both the puck and loads of room. He moved in from Stiliadis's undefended right side to pull off a toe drag move which launched Jake Emilio's stick into the crease and the ensuing goal put the Vipers up 4-0. Then just seconds after the faceoff, recent acquisition and former Penticton Vee, Finlay, would score as the "3rd man in" on an easy 2 on 1 after a Grizzlies giveaway in the Vipers end. The rout was on again.

     The Grizzlies would at least deny Vipers goalie Jarrod Schamerhorn his second shutout in as many games, with a tap-in back door goal by Brett Gruber. The goal would be Gruber's team leading 10th goal of the year after a nice bit of passing in the offensive end by PJ Conlon, Zach Dixon and Meirs Moore. But it was a case of too little too late and while the goal would make the score 5-1, that would be how it would eventually end. Incidentally, the Grizzlies went 0 for 6 on the PP on the night, which dropped the team out of 1st place in PP percentage and all the way down to 5th in the BCHL on the man advantage.

     So now you know how the weekend went, not good obviously but what trends and what lessons can the Grizzlies learn from this sour Interior swing? Three Game Misconducts in as many games and a two game suspension to anyone, let alone your top point getter is simply unacceptable. But what was more worrisome was that aside from a single Zach Dixon assist on that final Brett Gruber goal on Sunday, all the offence this weekend came from only 7 Grizzlies players. Each of those 7 players enjoyed multiple points over the three game stint, so that might be a positive and it is of course. But just remember that one of those players was Dane Gibson who had two goals and an assist, which is very good but he only played in five periods of hockey due to his Saturday ejection and follow-on suspension.

     So what does all this mean?  Well Homer Simpson once famously remarked: "You know Flanders, you can use statistics to prove any point you want, heck 3 out of 5 Americans know that", but the fact remains that no less than 12 Grizzlies skaters failed figure in any of the weekend's scoring. More to the point, none of those players were able to contribute offensively themselves and that must improve. And that is my point. 7 goals in 3 games averages out to only 2.3 goals/game. And yes, while it is a small sample size and all occurring during an Interior Division road swing, that kind of offense, just won't get the job done.

     So that sounds pretty bad, what's the good news coach? 

     The good news is that the road trip revealed the fact that this Grizzlies team has a short enough memory to quickly let a 10-4 loss go. They did that well and were able to get on with playing hard against a statistically superior opponent the very next night. That is good news and leaves me with lots of hope. The fact is that this team is vastly better than what they demonstrated this past weekend. But the lapses of self discipline must stop immediately. The Grizzlies simply cannot afford to lose points leader, Dane Gibson for any length of time. In only one and a half games this weekend, he figured in 43% of the team's offense. And guess what, he still has one game to sit for his suspension and you'll never guess who we play next?

     Which reminds me, I kind of glossed over a pretty major point. The road trip we just finished, well it isn't really over yet. Don't forget we play the powerhouse Nanaimo Clippers up at the Frank Crane on Wednesday night. And that's a Clippers team who just posted a score of 10-2 today on the strength of no less than 6 PP goals against an "Honourable Mentioned" Chilliwack Chiefs team in this past week's CJHL National Rankings.

     So one more bus ride on this road swing and a crucial Island Division matchup to boot. What the heck, Wednesday is the 19th of November and its also this sports writer's birthday. I do get one wish for my birthday don't I? So maybe after they shake off this weekend (remember they are good at that) they can beat the mighty Clippers Nation and I can enjoy a good singing of Happy Birthday here at home from my kids. And speaking of singing, maybe after the win, the Grizzlies can demand that Dane Gibson serenade the whole bus on the ride home to Victoria with some embarrassing rendition of an Ariana Grande song. I hear its good for team morale. -CC
 
 

    

Grizzlies Dumped by Trail in Defensive Nightmare

     The Grizzlies kicked off their weekend road-trip in Trail, B.C. as they took on the Smoke Eaters on a crisp Friday night. For the Grizzlies, Jake Emilio slotted back into the line-up after missing over a month due to injury. The Grizzlies were coming off six days rest, with their last contest coming at home against the Powell River Kings last Saturday, with the home team leaving the building with a 4-2 win.

     The first period was the best period for the Grizzlies, as both teams engaged in a neutral zone battle that neither team could get the upper hand. There were only seven shots in the first, with the Grizzlies holding the Smokies to just two shots in the first frame.

Scoreless after one between the @VicGrizzhockey and @BCHLSmokeEaters. Back and forth period that had chances both ways. #FHLive #BCHL
— Tyler Bennett (@TBennz) November 15, 2014

     The second period would be where the wheels fell off for the visitors. What started out as an even battle quickly turned into a horrific series of events for the Grizzlies. It all started with a Cody Van Lierop holding penalty at the start of the period that sent the Smoke Eaters to a power play, and the Grizzlies spiralled downwards from there. It would be Kienan Scott getting on the board first for Trail, as the Smokies would jump out to a great start to the second period. Only thirty seconds later, Harlan Orr would capitalize on a Victoria turnover (which was a recurring theme in this game) to make it 2-0 Trail just a couple of minutes into the frame. What would transpire after the 2-0 goal was indescribable. When the Grizzlies are on their game, they're making crisp tape-to-tape passes and skating with ease. In this case, the Grizzlies allowed the Smokies to skate circles around them, and the amount of turnovers in the second period alone was too much to count, as the Grizzlies handed the game over to the home team. Over the last 11 minutes of the second period, the Smoke Eaters scored six times, including a last second buzzer beater from Jeremy Lucchini to give Trail a commanding 8-2 lead after two periods of play. The Grizzlies did get on the board in the second, as Brett Gruber and Matt Kennedy did find the back of the net for Victoria, but the amount of defensive lapses erased the Victoria markers and buried the road team into the ground with a period still left to play.

No way…. Buzzer beater from Lucchini to make it 8-2 Trail as the 2nd winds down. Unbelievable. #Grizz #Smokies
— Tyler Bennett (@TBennz) November 15, 2014

     The Grizzlies weren't able to get back on track for the third period, as Craig Martin would make it 9-2 Trail in the first half of the frame with a beautiful tic-tac-toe play off a Victoria turnover in their own end. Jake Emilio would capitalize on a Victoria powerplay to get his second of the season, very impressive considering it was his first game action since October 11th. The Smokies would reach the double-digit mark at the 14:01 mark, as birthday boy Max Newton would score his 1st BCHL goal on his 17th birthday to expand the Trail lead once again. A late goal by Dane Gibson would pad his stat total, but the Grizzlies ultimately wind up losing this one big time by a final score of 10-4.

It's finally over; the @BCHLSmokeEaters defeat the @VicGrizzHockey by a score of 10-4. 8 goals in the 2nd period alone for Trail. #TheHorror
— Tyler Bennett (@TBennz) November 15, 2014

     There's no question the Grizzlies' downfall came at the start of the second period. The Grizzlies were unable to recover from a quick two goals from the home team, and the flood gates opened from there. 8 goals allowed in the second period alone were just too much for the Grizzlies to overcome, as the team never found it's traction after the Van Lierop penalty to kick off the second frame. Again, turnovers killed the Grizzlies on Friday night. Although Trail did burn the visitors with their speed at times, the Grizzlies were their own worst enemy as the game dragged on.

     For the Grizzlies, they must recover quick, as they trek on to Kelowna for tomorrow night's date with one of the BCHL's best, newly-acquired Braydon Gelsinger and the West Kelowna Warriors. A 10-4 loss is never easy to learn from and move on, but the Grizzlies are amidst a three-games in three-nights stretch where there's no room for mourning a big loss. There's no doubt that every team, even top teams in the league, go through rough patches and have bad games, and head coach/GM Brad Knight and the rest of the Grizzlies have to chalk this game up as a loss and move on from there. It won't be easy, but the Grizzlies have to regroup and prepare for a tough test tomorrow night. -TB