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

Showing Up: A Preview of the Grizzlies Upcoming Interior Road Swing

Woody Allen once famously said that 80% of success is just showing up. Meaning with most things in life, well over half the battle is usually won if you simply show up on time and in the right place. After that, everything else just seems to sort itself out. The Grizzlies could have benefitted from those words of wisdom this past Saturday night before they emerged from the team's Dressing Room almost five minutes late, receiving an ensuing Bench Minor for Delay of Game and going down 1-0 early as a result. Oh well it was Parent’s Weekend after all and my guess is that there may have been one too many “Good luck out there tonight sons” in pre-game speeches but in the end the Grizzlies won 4-2 on the night.  No harm no foul.    

Funny enough though, I found myself thinking again on Tuesday about the famous New York comedian’s musings, at least so far as it pertains to the Grizzlies, when I stood as I do every November 11th, in my Canadian Navy No.1A dress uniform at the Langford Cenotaph. There right beside me, appearing in groups of ones and twos, stood each and every Grizzly player. Each were turned out smartly and on time for that hour long and usually cold ceremony, which we as Canadians have grown accustomed to every November. I had Meirs Moore, Jay Mackie and Chris Harpur near my immediate vicinity. I also noticed that there was nobody taking attendance, no coaches or training staff.  Likely that detail was left up to the Team Captain, Shawn McBride to manage and properly so. So there they all stood, each one cold but ever respectful of the occasion, even the "unnamed rookie player" who showed up in a shirt and tie and nearly froze to death. Ah the folly of youth. And they all asked good questions, especially those who were likely new to this Canadian tradition. Woody Allen would have been pleased. I certainly was impressed. 

And that got me thinking about success, meaning the team’s success over this coming weekend.  The Grizzlies departed the Q Centre Thursday to make their way to Trail for Friday night’s first game against the Smoke Eaters and follow that up with a visit to Royal LePage Place in West Kelowna on Saturday night to face the mighty Warriors. Then, thanks to the crazy schedule they head east again for a Sunday Matinee game vs the Vernon Vipers to round out the weekend's action. Three big games in three nights vs the dreaded Interior Division. Aside from the short trip to Prince George in January, it will mark the Grizzlies last major trip to the interior of the province this regular season.

So I thought, let's spend a quick minute or two here and go over the match-ups one by one:

Trail – Friday 7pm – Cominco Arena

Next to the hapless Surrey Eagles, the Smoke Eaters are coming off the BCHL’s longest current losing streak at five games coming into the contest. But the Smokies played hard at home on Tuesday night in a 2-1 loss vs the tough Merritt Centennials and with a large number of returning players from last year, the team features 8 players already committed to NCAA schools.  Third year forward, Jake Lucchini leads the Smokies in points this year with 23 points and 4 PP goals. He is supported by rookie 20 year old, Charlie Zuccarini and his 11 goals and 21 points along with Bryan Basilico’s 18 points in 18 games. The Smoke Eaters move the puck well and from what I saw of their game on Tuesday night, I expect a tight checking game with net minder Adam Todd and his 3.48 GAA.

 

Prediction: 4-3 Grizzlies

 

West Kelowna Warriors - Saturday 7pm - Royal LePage Place

 

Don't look now, but suddenly and in spite of one of the biggest trades of the season, (the acquisition on 3 Nov of Brayden Gelsinger from the Capitals), the Warriors have lost 2 of their last 3 games.  They will be ready for Victoria Saturday night for sure. But the Grizzlies won't forget the Warriors storming back from that 3-0, first period deficit to outscore the Grizzlies on home ice back on Sunday 26 Oct. That heartbreaking loss left a mark and I suspect  the Grizzlies will want major pay-back.  They will check much tighter the likes of Micheal Buonincontri, Liam Blackburn and Jonathan Desbiens, but even with what I sense will be a somewhat lower score this time, I feel this one will end in a tight Warriors 2OT win.

 

Prediction: 5-4 Warriors (2OT)

 

Vernon Vipers - Sunday 2pm - Kal Tire Place

 

This will be the game I am most interested in seeing this weekend, in part because we get to see Mitch Meek and Brandon Egli face their former team. But also because it is the end of a road trip to the interior and I want to see if we can close games out a little better than we did a month ago when we lost late in OT to Merritt. With a modest Vipers two game winning streak coming into this weekend's action, no matter which Vipers goalie gets the call, the Grizzlies will be in tough. The Grizzlies will be tired after four days on the bus and I worry this will be too much for them and the huge crowds the Vipers usually draw at The Kal. But I am going to go for a Grizzlies win in this one, with the kids digging deep on the road setting up for a fun and relaxing post game bus ride to Tswassen Ferry Terminals and on home to Victoria late Sunday night.

 

Prediction: 3-2 Grizzlies

 

So I am going for 5 points out of a possible 6 on the weekend and while that may seem a bit ambitious, especially vs Interior Division foes, I think the team is now primed for a nice big tough road trip. After the positive week they had last week with that win up in Alberni followed by a single but equally impressive OT point vs the powerhouse Vees, the week was complimented by that huge 4 goal comeback vs Powell River on Saturday. This well rested Grizzlies team is pulling on the leech just bit at the moment I feel. While almost all teams have hit the 20 game Quarter Pole on the season, the Grizzlies at 17 games played, won't be there until the end of the Vernon game. So as strange as the BCHL schedule is once again this year, my bet is that the team needs to go on the road now and build on many of the positives from the many team building events they have enjoyed in recent weeks. 

 

Finally, I read CFAX 1070's Steve Duffy's Blog from a few days ago about failing attendance numbers this year at the Q Centre. I like Steve Duffy, but what he said scared the hell out of me. He is as puzzled as any of us about, (let's face fact folks), the really obvious meager crowds we are seeing this season at home games. I get the fact that the high flying Triplets are now gone, I get the fact that there have been a large number of recent changes in ownership and management, but this team plays with one of the most dramatic styles of hockey I have seen in years. So I am calling on all West Shore fans, heck all Victoria fans to get out from behind your 70" TVs, to get away from your Canucks games and come down to the Q Centre next Friday night to welcome the boys back to our barn as we face the Nanaimo Clippers. After all, Woody Allen's famous words don't just apply to the fine young men in those Grizzlies uniforms, they apply to all of us.  If we want to enjoy that coveted 80% of success, we all need to just show up.

Grizzlies Overcome Early Deficit Against Kings

     The Victoria Grizzlies didn't make it easy on themselves on a Saturday night showdown against an Island Division rival, the Powell River Kings. The Grizzlies failed to step on the ice on time, ending up in a 2 minute minor for delay of game because of the late arrival of the home team. The early penalty would prove to be costly, as a nice move by Jarid Lukosevicius left a wide open Stephen Hiff who finished the pretty passing play to give the Kings an early 1-0 lead. The Kings wouldn't stop there, as just over a minute later it would be chaos in front of the net, and Jacob Pritchard would put one past a completely disoriented Mike Stiliadis to give the Kings a commanding 2-0 lead just a couple of minutes into the hockey game. Grizzlies head coach Brad Knight would settle down his troops and the Victoria squad would control the pace of the play after the Pritchard goal. Midway through the frame, it would be Jay Mackie taking the reception from his linemates and snapping one past red-hot Kings goaltender Brett Magnus to cut the Kings lead in half heading to the dressing room for the first intermission.

     Whatever message Brad Knight had for his players definitely worked, as the Grizzlies completely dominated the second frame. The Grizzlies were outshooting the Kings 31-11 as the period drew to an end. It would be at the midway point of the second that the Grizzlies would finally get their equalizer, as Matt Kennedy made a smart play to swipe the puck off the falling Brett Gruber and found a wide open Dane Gibson at the side of the net who made no mistake. The Grizzlies would take their first lead of the hockey game late in the second period, as Zach Dixon tee'd up a one-timer for Meirs Moore who's point rocket would find it's way through traffic and beat a screened Magnus to give the home team the advantage heading into the third and final frame.

     One goal games have been a recurring theme this season, and it was down to the wire once again on Saturday night as the two teams went back and forth all the way to the final buzzer. There was chances both ways, with both goaltenders needing some help from their goal posts throughout the period. The Grizzlies took three consecutive penalties in the third, but thanks to some stellar defence and a couple of key saves from Stiliadis, Victoria was able to fend off the Kings' offence each time. It would be Matt Kennedy putting the icing on the cake late, as the Kings pulled the goalie late and came up empty, as Kennedy slid his third point of the night into a yawning cage to secure the 4-2 victory on home ice.

     Despite a horrendus start to the game and a rough patch to start the third period, the Grizzlies were able to shut down the Kings' top line and worked the cycle well in the offensive end to sustain constant pressure on the attack. Matt Kennedy was great in the game, posting the dagger late and tacking on two assists in the victory. Although he had a rough start, Mike Stiliadis was able to settle down and stop every shot from the 2-0 goal on en-route to his second win in as many nights. The Grizzlies snap the Kings' four-game win streak and will take three of four points on the weekend homestand. The Grizzlies now get another six days of rest before hitting the road next weekend for a tough three opponents in three nights. In the outcome, it wasn't a one-goal game on the score sheet, but it was still a close game until the end, further solidifying the Grizzlies identity as "the Drama Kings." -TB

We Are The Brave: Grizzlies vs Penticton Vees - 7 Nov, 2014

     Earlier this past week I had an opportunity to listen to my broadcast partner Tyler Bennett's interview with Alex Rawnsley (Voice of PR Kings) on The Powell River Kings Weekly Radio Show. While listening, I heard Alex pose that question most of us Grizzlies fans have been struggling with all year:  So just who are these Grizzlies, what is their team identity?  Tyler gave a good answer, but in the end he had to admit that even he wasn't sure what to say about the team's full identity. Funny enough though, one word he didn't use in the interview was the word "brave".

     Tonight that word "brave", just kept coming at me all night. Its kind of been a theme of the team all week, but more on that later. That term brave just sort of kept coming up as I watched the Grizzlies take the ice and stare down the Penticton Vees. The Grizzlies stood right up to those talent laden Penticton Vees, just days after the Vees were announced as the CJHL's top team in the country in Monday's newly released national rankings. Then I looked over at the Grizzlies, a team who score a bit less, a team who don't yet have a large number of highly coveted future NHL draft prospects, a team made up of very solid BCHL players, but few who would make you immediately take national level notice.

     Brave indeed you would have to be in order to take on a team like Penticton and actually think that you stood a chance. I thought I noticed it, ever so slightly in some of my pre-game conversations with a few of the Grizzlies players. There were maybe just a few more than usual pre-game nerves I thought I noticed and who could blame them?  Heck they were playing the Penticton Vees, a team which was 16-2 with a +50 goal differential going into action at The Q Centre last night. If it were me, I would be way more than nervous, I'd likely be visiting the washroom more than once or twice if I was asked to face the mighty leaders of the BCHL.

     Maybe it was that song which our video man, Roy Anthonisen chose for his YouTube video of the team this week as they visited the Canadian Navy's elite divers at FDU(P). In the video each player participates in the dreaded and painful morning swim to the music "We Are The Brave".  I am not sure, but for whatever reason, all night as I watched the Grizzlies withstand rush after rush by Penticton, attack after attack, hit after hit, I kept thinking of that melody in Roy's video: We are The Brave, We are the Brave.

     And brave they were, right from the opening faceoff.  The Grizzlies went right at the Vees from the get go. They didn't sit back, instead they attacked the Vees immediately. And the Grizzlies were soon rewarded after a fine bit of play from the Jay Mackie, Dane Gibson and Matt Kennedy line as all three were buzzing around the Vees' net. After a forced turnover, Matt Kennedy scored his 7th of the campaign on a beautiful move off the far corner boards and straight into the slot with a wrister that leaked between the pads of Vees net minder Brendan Barry.  1-0 Grizzlies!

     Only moments later, the newly assembled line of P.J. Conlon, Mitch Barker and Storm Wahlrab struck. It started as big #27 took out two Vees at the point, allowing space for Barker to steal the puck off the stick of a hapless Gabe Bast, and smartly passed it to his nimble Centre, Conlon who's quick wrister found the back of the net. 2-0 Grizzlies! Storm Wahlrab didn't pick up a point on the play, but the space he made by hammering the two Vees players at the blue line delayed any Vees help in front of the Penticton net and gave Conlon all the time in the world to snap home his 4th of the year.

     It was starting to look like Deja Vu all over again, with yet another big Grizzlies lead materializing early in a 1st period. It looked even more like pervious games when the Grizzlies took a late penalty in the period, Ayden MacDonald receiving a charging call and on the ensuing PP, the Vees finally striking. On the play, Vees defenseman Mike Lee sent a 100 foot breakout pass right down the centre of the ice, splitting the four Grizzlies penalty killers and found an all alone Jack Ramsay. The Chicago Blackhawks prospect would not disappoint, as he picked up the pass at the blue line and streaked in all alone, firing a long wrist shot which beat Michael Stiliadis on the blocker side. It was a PP goal, for Ramsey's and his 5th goal of the year as the two teams retired at the end of the first period with the Grizzlies holding a slim but nonetheless impressive 2-1 lead.

     Just a minute into Period #2 the Vees would strike again off a strange deflection from in front of the net. Riley Alferd would somehow deflect a harmless looking Patrick Sexton shot from the point and the score was suddenly 2-2. At that point you were thinking, oh boy, here we go, here come the Vees, but Victoria would not back down. They were brave once again, they stood up and said no, not tonight, not on my watch. That takes guts.

     Brett Gruber would answer at the 1:22 minute mark of the same period just moments after the Vees had equalized. A smart pinch by Shawn McBride kept the puck in the zone and after Brett Gruber was able to get the puck behind the net to Cole Pickup, the Victoria native was able to make a perfect pass across the Vees' crease to find an open Garrett Forster. Forster then tipped the puck back again to McBride who finally found the forgotten Brett Gruber alone on the side of the net and it was too easy for Gruber who quickly dispatched his team leading 8th of the year, 3-2 Grizzlies! You could almost hear the music.  We are The Brave, We are The Brave!

     The scary moment of the evening would happen halfway through that second period as #25, Quinn Thompson, with his head down and defenseless, would take a huge hit as he tried to rush the puck up the right boards and out of the zone. He would quickly rise to his feet and minus a glove, he would head straight to the Change Room and not return in the contest. That took guts, major guts.

     But bravery won't help you if you are down a man all night and a Roughing penalty to Cody Van Lierop late in the 2nd period would create the opportunity for the Vees to draw level. But the tying goal did not come without what this sports writer thought at the times was major, although mostly unnoticed controversy. As it turned out I was wrong on the broadcast and the keep in at the point by Bast was well executed and completely devoid of any help from the bench. At the time however, it sure looked like Bast had some help from many pairs of hands on the bench. After Brett Gruber's clearance from the corner was legally batted down by Bast, the puck would be passed around the Grizzlies end by a number of Vees. Then Bast once again was in a position to be able to sneak into the slot and bury a one time shot past Stiliadis.

     Sounds like a good time for some more bravery and resilience by the Grizzlies. Enter Micheal Stiliadis.

     The Victoria net minder put on an absolute clinic in the 3rd period, turning back shot after shot and leaving a lot of Vees players scratching their heads. It was pay back for the Vees bench "Hand Ball" in the 2nd period. On countless occasions, Stiliadis would stretch out to block shots and flail his body in all directions, each time turning away the Vees attack. As the seconds ticked down you could see, we were going to be heading to OT. The Drama Kings, (my nickname for this year's Grizzlies) would have it no other way. So off to OT we went, secure in the fact that no matter what, the Grizzlies had just secured a vital single point against the #1 ranked junior hockey team in the country, a feat which took a lot of guts.

      We won't talk too much about the OT, other than to say that once again the Grizzlies went head to head with the Vees and actually outshot the visitors in the first OT. But the game would end in the second OT period with 3 on 3 action, after a speeding Matt Serratore, an Air Force prospect, burst down the left wing after being sprung on a long stretch pass by Jack Ramsey. Serratore scored after collecting his own long rebound (a rare event on the night), firing a second time into the small opening in the net and ending the game 4-3 to Penticton.

     And that was how the hockey game would end, half heart breaker, but half major encouragement for the Grizzlies. It was incredibly the Victoria Grizzlies BCHL leading fourteenth single goal differential game of the season.

     Sure, it was an OT loss and those are never fun. But the Grizzlies scored three big goals vs the top team in the country, and took them to OT.  Remember the Vees are a team which two weeks ago beat the Surrey Eagles in 11-0 and 10-0 respective score lines during a recent Home and Home series. Standing up to that type of offence, standing up to that kind of a team takes a lot. But one big thing it undisputedly requires is guts and bravery. And bravery is what this 2014-15 Grizzlies team has loads of and what will in the end take this team to the next level.

     That's what I see as this team's identity: drama and guts.

     The Grizzlies host the Powell River Kings tonight at 7pm at the Q Centre. -CC



    
    

PREVIEW: Grizzlies vs. Vees, 11/7/14

    The Victoria Grizzlies play their first home game in nearly two weeks against a tough task, the Penticton Vees. For the Grizzlies, they're trying to claw their way back into contention in the Island Division despite an over .500 record, while the Vees are already in cruise control in the Interior Division with a healthy ten point lead on the rest of the division. For the Grizzlies, there's no tougher test in the league than the powerhouse Vees, which represents an opportunity for the boys in black and yellow to boost their confidence and morale with a chance to take down the top Jr. A team in the country.

     The Victoria Grizzlies (7-6-0-2, 16pts, 4^th Island Division)  are coming off a 5-2 win against Alberni Valley on November 1^st, coming off 6 days rest. Victoria is still trying to find consistency in their game, as they haven't been able to produce a consistent 60-minute product so far this season. The Grizzlies have 2 games in 2 nights before taking another 6-day break after this weekend.

     Meanwhile, the Penticton Vees (16-2-0-0, 32pts, 1st Interior Division) are coming off a 3-2 loss against the West-Kelowna Warriors earlier in the week. The Vees are also playing two games in two nights. Penticton has 80 goals for, 30 against for a  +50 differential on the season, over 4 goals a game on average while giving up under 2 goals a game on defence on average. The Vees are the top Jr. A team in the country to date.

     The last meeting between these two teams came on October 18^th in Penticton, Liam Findlay’s 2^nd period marker would be enough for the Vees to squeak out a 2-1 win at home. More advertised, it was a war of words, as Brad Knight guaranteed that the next time they played, the Victoria squad would defeat the powerhouse Vees, Storm Wahlrab also called the Penticton team a small and not very physical. This did not bode well with Vees head coach Fred Harbinson who defended his team with some salt for the Grizzlies head coach.

     The Grizzlies are coming off a six-day layoff, with their last game being on the road in Alberni Valley on November 1st. For the Grizzlies, it will be a matter of getting their jump back in their step to start the hockey game, and there's no tougher test to try and shake off the rust than the Penticton Vees.

     The Grizzlies special teams have been the highlight of the team so far this season, clicking at 30.5% (1^st in BCHL), and although their PK is only at 78.5% (9^th in BCHL), they’re also tied for 1^st in the BCHL with six shorthanded goals.

     Penticton has 80 goals as a team, 133 assists already, great puck moving team that executes with precision and power, lead by Harvard commit Lewis Zerter-Gossage (9G,14A 23PTS) and Michigan Tech commit Demico Hannoun (13G 7A 20PTS). Hannoun is the older brother of Victoria Royals forward Dante Hannoun. The Vees are similar to the Grizzlies in the fact that the Vees get their scoring from all four lines, maybe on a larger scale than Victoria, but still on the same system.

    For Victoria, Cole Pickup is on fire right now; he was held to 4 assists in first 12 games,but recently, Pickup has  4 goals, 2 assists in last three games and has seemed to re-gain confidence in his offensive game.  Jay Mackie is playing his first game since committing to Holy Cross College (NCAA Div. 1 in Worcester, Massachusetts) for the 2015-16 season. Mackie is currently second in Grizzlies scoring with 5 goals, 12 assists in 15 games this season. Mackie has accumulated 45 points in 72 games in his BCHL career so far.

      Be sure to tune in on either fasthockey.com or awdio.com/victoriagrizzlies to watch or listen to the game, it's going to be a great one! - TB