Grizzlies Season Post Mortem 2014/15

 

Well, its good to be back talking to you all again, but I owe you all a quick explanation about the long delay.  I deliberately avoided the temptation to write a post mortem on the 2014/2015 Victoria Grizzlies season until the entire Jr. A season was over.  I wanted to wait until the completion of the 2015 RBC Cup, which of course was a goal of the club.  Some reading this might scoff at the thought of that goal and think it a bit lofty, but not me and perhaps by the end of this, you might feel the same way.

 

But before I get into a dissection of the season I want to acknowledge the loss of several players from the roster and wish them all well in the future.  At the time of the writing of this blog, we have just recently learned in the last few hours that the Grizzlies will be giving up Forward Ayden McDonald (96) and Defenseman Chris Harpur (96) to the Cowichan Valley Capitals in exchange for the futures in the Thomas Gobeil (94) Jan 10^th trade.  The acquisition of Gobeil instantly made the Grizzlies better and I still think it was the right move for the club; the deal took guts by both organizations.  But I also remember at the time quietly thinking to myself that one day that deal will cost the club and now that day has come.  Two weeks ago we saw the leader of The Hands Line, Brett Gruber (96) drafted #2 overall in the USHL Draft by the Green Bay Gamblers.  Gruber will move back to his native state of Wisconsin next year and play out his Junior Hockey career as a forward with the Gamblers. 

 

With Shawn McBride (95), Jay Mackie (95), Dane Gibson (94), Meirs Moore (94), Matt Kennedy (95) and Jake Emilio (94) all off to respective 2015/16 NCAA scholarships and with a few more likely on the way for next season, the Grizzlies will no doubt have a few open spots at Training Camp which is just 90 days away if you can believe that.  And forget not that Gobeil is off to play Pro Hockey possibly in the ECHL next year.  Add to Gobeil, the loss of Team Leader in Plus/Minus, Zach Dixon (94) on defence and suddenly the task of Grizzlies Scouts and Coaches just got even bigger.  Last but not the least is #1 net minder Michael Stiliadis who has aged out and suddenly the Grizzlies will face an August Main Training Camp with the task of filling a minimum 12 roster spots.  That is a tall order, but not an impossible one for Coach Didmon and his staff.

 

But before we get to August Training Camp, let’s look back and do a proper post mortem on this past, tumultuous 2014/15 Season.

 

After losing Game 6 of Round 1 in OT to the Powell River Kings, I think we all felt a sense of profound disappointment, especially considering the manner in which the Grizzlies came back so late in that game and nearly pulled off the miraculous comeback.  Had the Grizzlies won that game in OT, a game which saw Zach Dixon hit a post just moments into OT, perhaps the story would have been different.  My guess is that the Grizzlies would have gone on a bit of a run in the playoffs, but in the end, we will never know.  That’s hockey.

 

In the meantime, I want to reflect for a moment on what I consider to have been a transformational year for Grizzlies.  The pink elephant in the room and the knock on the Victoria Grizzlies for years has been the front office.  You only need to go as far as the nearest BCHL Blog site and you will find many vilified comments about the club’s struggles in terms of ownership, management, a litany coaches and multiple behind the scenes dramas.  Right or wrong, that has been the narrative of the club for years. The truth is that you will find many of the same issues in most Junior Hockey clubs anywhere. 

 

What I try and remind people when they spout that narrative about the Grizzlies is this: The Victoria Grizzlies were the only team in the BCHL to see a change in Head Coach/GM during the course of the Regular Season and it was a highly successful change in essentially all respects.  Next, the Grizzlies took major steps in early December to reset the ownership model and set firmly in place an ownership team which featured the fans, the community, the club and local business/sponsorship all on the same page.  The fans responded and a lot less of those burgundy seats at Q Centre were visible on game nights.  The team started winning immediately and climbing in the standings.  Things were looking up.  By January at the trade deadline, the Grizzlies pulled off the biggest player move I have seen the club make since the Steve Sigaty deal way back with the 2000/2001 Salsa.  The team acquired the aforementioned QMJHL phenome, Thomas Gobeil from Cowichan and with the undisputed #1 Power Play in the league it started to look like the Grizzlies might be ready to go on a run in the playoffs.  The Hands Line was firing on all cylinders with Brett Gruber, Matt Kennedy and Dane Gibson almost unstoppable on certain nights.  The team boasted what I have long said was the best defensive core in the history of the organization going back to 1991 when I first started following the Victoria Warriors out at the old JDF Arena.  The PK was very solid this year as well.  And the goaltending, while not tops in the league, certainly was coming along to the point where you started thinking, maybe…maybe.

 

In short, by season’s end, in spite of the crippling loss of Matt Kennedy to a season ending shoulder injury, the team went on a 8-0 run down the stretch and many considered the Grizzlies as the most dangerous team in the BCHL heading into the Playoffs.  Well it didn’t quite work out that way and in the end the Grizzlies had to shake hands with Powell River at the Q Centre and wish the Kings well on their way the Second Round.  So I thought that we would give the team its year end report card in terms of where it ended up.  This time I chose six basic team categories to sum it all up: Goal, Forwards, Defense, Special Teams, Coaching, Ownership/Management.  Here is how I saw it at year’s end:

 

Goal: C+

 

Goaltending was good, but it never became great as it did under Alec Dillon the year before, which in the end was what it needed in order to be successful in the playoffs.  One of my few criticisms of that position was what I saw in terms of a lack of using the backup.  I felt down the stretch and even into the playoffs that the Grizzlies never really managed the position as well as they perhaps could have.  I would have liked to have seen Sean Cleary (next year’s prospective #1) just a little bit more, if only to take a bit of the pressure of Michael Stiliadis and provide him some rest.

 

Forwards: A

 

The Hands Line along with Jay Mackie, Garret Forster (95), Shawn McBride (95), Kevin Massy (95), Cole Pickup (96) and Ayden MacDonald were but a few of the names who were key to providing the Grizzlies with one of the highest flying offences (219 goals for) the club has enjoyed in years.  Every night the Grizzlies had three lines, each of whom who could score and the 4^th Line was never a liability no matter where we played on the road.  In short, the forwards were excellent all year.

 

Defense: A-

 

You might think with me singing the praises of the D Corps being the best in club history, they would be worthy of a grade of A+.  Don’t get me wrong, “D Corps” as they liked to call themselves was fantastic all year.  If you count Kevin Massy’s goals when he played as a D-man, they scored the most goals as a corps of defensemen in over twenty years at 40.  But unfortunately, the one major knock on the squad all year was the high number of goals allowed, (210 goals against).  A small part of that was the responsibility of the defensemen.  Also, as we saw in the playoffs, the team often skated with just five defensemen with Massy used primarily as a forward with Kennedy out of the lineup.  This tells me that the team wasn’t 100% settled in terms of that position, so as great as the D corps was all year, they never fully hit their stride in terms of personnel.  While I loved their overall play, that sixth defenseman’s spot was empty at year’s end and I think that fact came back to roost to some degree.

 

Special Teams: A-

 

The Grizzlies lead the league almost wire to wire during the season with the top Power Play in the BCHL.  The PK was also very good and was consistent all year with players like PJ Conlon (95), Mitch Barker (96) and Jay Mackie as key pieces to playing shorthanded.  The Grizzlies scored 12 times shorthanded last year which was double from the 6 shorties in the 2013/14 season.

 

Coaching: B+

 

Under Craig Didmon the Grizzlies were flat out fantastic and fought to win every night.  Over 100 more fans came to home games under Didmon as well.  In December, the team went from a distant 4^th place in the Island Division to 2^nd place and managed to finish the year in that spot with a game to spare.  Under the old regime which was changed out at the end of November, you simply could not say the same and for only that reason, the coaches get a lower grade.  If it had been Didmon and Scott Hawthorne all year long, I can only imagine how well the team might have fared but we will never know.  So on the balance of the entire season, which included the team’s former Head Coach receiving a three game suspension after a Merritt Centennials road game, the bench only deserves a B+ in my opinion.

 

Ownership/Management: A-

 

By the end of the season with the new ownership group fully on board and committed to keeping the club not only competitive but remaining in Colwood, the Grizzlies are looking very good going forward.  The Grizzlies season and maybe their future was saved in my opinion when John Wilson and the rest of the new owners stepped forward in early December.  They made the hard decisions they needed to make in order to be successful.  With local businesses back on board and with a firm commitment to supporting the West Shore, I would say that this is by far the most responsible and stable ownership model the club has enjoyed in the club’s history.  Time will tell if that can continue, my guess is that yes it will continue.  Last week’s scare involving Q Centre tenancy negotiations going temporarily off the tracks was in my opinion an example of a steady hand at the helm and not to be interpreted negatively.  These owners mean business and that is good for all Grizzlies fans and players.

 

To sum up, this past season was indeed a transformative one for the Grizzlies.  What lies ahead in terms of replacing the many missing pieces still remains very much to be seen.  The loss of the entire Hands Line plus 4 out of 5 key defensemen will no doubt be a challenge moving forward.  The good news for the Grizzlies is that recruiting talent to come to the jewel of British Columbia has never been a problem.  The next three months of recruiting and Main Camp will no doubt be key.  As long as the Grizzlies are competitive, the new business model and ownership group will support this club like it never has before.  The Coaching Staff and leadership group is not only solid, it represents a major positive contrast to where the club was just a year ago.

 

So come on out to the Q Centre and join us this Fall for the 2015/16 Campaign.  I know it will be a lot of fun. - CC

The Fortress In The Forest Part Two, A Study In Geology: Kings v Grizz

With Game 6 only hours away and the entire series now hanging in the balance with the Kings up 3-2, the Grizzlies know that their backs are literally up against the proverbial wall. After completing the middle three games of the series at The Hap Parker Arena in Powell River, the Grizzlies might take solace from the fact that they managed to win at least one game on the road, the Saturday night 6-1 victory.

That victory would provide the Grizzlies with a good deal of hope left in a series which has witnessed just about everything thus far. The victory, the first of the entire season for the Grizzlies at "The Hap" allows Victoria with an opportunity to finish the series at home.  Game 6 and 7 (if necessary) will not fall under the usual Away-Home model as seen in the traditional BCHL hockey playoff model, not this year.  Instead, due to an interesting and somewhat curious decision, the Grizzlies took a considerable calculated risk by choosing to play 3 straight games at what I like to call "The Fortress In The Forest."  Had the Grizzlies lost all three weekend games at The Hap, the series would already be over. But the Grizzlies held firm and got that one vital win.

And after Friday night's game, a 5-2 loss in spite of 49 shots on Kings goaltender Brett Magnus, the Grizzlies looked like that decision to play games 3, 4 and 5 in Powell River might prove fatal.  With the smaller ice surface and the chip and chase style of the Kings, the hometown advantage looked to be perhaps insurmountable after Game 3.






But I predicted on Saturday that the winner of Game 4 would win the series and the Grizzlies did just that. Tom Gobeil, held pointless so far would provide a spark by cleanly hitting Kings defenseman Ross Hnidy into the boards in the second minute of the opening period. That hit would end Hnidy's night and likely his series but it would provide a lift for the Grizzlies who continued to pour on the fore-check in the smaller rink.

Moments later, taking the lead in a series hockey game for the only time so far through 5 games, Cole Pickup would snap a wrist shot past Magnus. Pickup's unassisted effort would lift his team's bench in spite of a Nick Halagian tying goal before the end of the period. But Period #2 would prove the pivotal moment of the entire weekend. Four unanswered Grizzlies goals, with two on the Powerplay, would be more than enough offense to provide the Grizzlies with the assurance that a Game 6 would take place on Tuesday at The Q Centre. Ayden MacDonald, Brett Gruber, Garret Forster and Jay Mackie would all score and in the 2nd period and Captain Shawn McBride would finish off the scoring with seconds left in the 3rd, sending the Grizzlies back to the hotel with a 6-1 win but more importantly with the series tied at 2-2.

On Sunday however it would be Magnus again leading the way with 26 saves on 27 Grizzlies' shots and a 5-1 Kings victory for Game 5. But the Grizzlies would leave the Fortress In The Fortress for the very last time in the 2014/15 season with a crucial single victory in seven attempts.  If you had told the Grizzlies at the beginning of the season that they would be 1-7 at the Hap Parker on the year, few would complain if that one solitary win would come during the playoffs. The win might be all the Grizzlies will need now. It could prove fatal for the Kings.

But Magnus has been nothing short of incredible and the Grizzlies must find a way to beat him in Game 6 Tuesday night at The Q Centre. Having faced 166 shots in the series and conceding only 13 goals, Magnus now sports a formidable .922 save percentage. It is a figure which is truly impressive, coupled with the fact that he has held talented forwards Dane Gibson and Thomas Gobeil to only a single assist between the two 20 year-olds in 5 straight playoff games thus far.

After scoring only two goals on 49 shots on Friday night, I first started thinking about the film, The Shawshank Redemption.  We all remember that famous prison movie in the early 1990s with Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. With Robbins' character, Andy Dufresne free and on the run, Morgan Freeman as narrator gives an account of the prison break.

"In 1966, Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank Prison. All they found of him was a muddy set of prison clothes, a bar of soap, and an old rock hammer, damn near worn down to the nub. I used to think it would take six-hundred years to tunnel under the wall with it. Old Andy did it in less than twenty. Oh, Andy loved geology. I imagine it appealed to his meticulous nature. An ice age here, million years of mountain building there. Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes really, pressure and time."

The Grizzlies proved the theory around that particular science on Saturday night as they made Magnus look human again with no less than 6 goals on only 26 shots. Magnus on that night sported a save percentage of only .770. Pressure and time.

With sustained effort and constant pressure on Saturday, the Grizzlies finally broke through and scored with relative ease on Magnus. On Sunday that pressure lessened somewhat in spite of a 4- minute 2nd period Powerplay, I doubt that will happen again. But remember also that the Grizzlies Powerplay was attempting to operate in the tighter confines of the Hap. Games 6 and 7 will provide the Grizzlies with the much needed extra real-estate to operate their offense.  Pressure and time.


So off to the biggest game of the season, Game 6. The Q Centre will be buzzing and I expect that the Grizzlies will come out with a desperate effort for a full 60 minutes. If they can maintain that pressure and sustain it for a long enough period of time, say a full 60 minutes, they can and will be ultimately successful against the Kings.

That's all it takes really, pressure and time. -CC



             

Survive and Advance: Grizzlies v Kings Games 1 & 2

A couple of years ago the surviving members of the 1983 North Carolina State Wolfpack were getting together to have a 30 year reunion from their National Championship season and it occurred to ESPN Films to make one of those 30 for 30 documentaries about the iconic event.

If I was ever asked, I would often say that the only thing which could ever instantly bring me to tears was the final 15 minutes of To Kill A Mockingbird.  Well in 2013 when ESPN 30 for 30 released Survive and Advance, I had to add that film to my short list.  It's still the finest documentary I have ever seen.

The Wolfpack's Head Coach in 1983 was a funny and outgoing young Italian American from Queens New York named Jim Valvano.  Jimmy V was a lot of great things, but what he was most known for was his ability to trust his convictions and lead his team in the only way he knew how, by being himself.

Literally against all odds, the 83' Wolfpack won College Basketball's most coveted prize, the NCAA Men's National Championship.  The 30 for 30 Episode which commemorates that moment talks about the highs and the lows of that entire 82'/83' season, but most of all it captures Coach V's constant pre-game message during that Final Four:  "Survive and Advance".

Photo Credit - Christian Stewart ISN

Just survive the next game and then advance to the next one.  That was his message.  Just find a way to win and we will advance, somehow, some way and we will worry about the next game when it comes.  That 83' Wolfpack team saw him invent tactics in the spur of the moment.  He called timeouts and issued instructions for his players to commit intentional fouls.  It was done only to get the ball back and put pressure on the opposition.  It had never been done before.  Yes Coach Jimmy V invented the intentional foul.

Photo Credit - Christian Stewart ISN

The Grizzlies in many ways are right in the middle of their very own "Final Four".  Well actually the BCHL somehow managed to invent a "Final Three" but I think you get what I am getting at.

After a miserable 7-2 opening game loss in front of a sparse crowd at the Q Centre on Tuesday night, the Grizzlies looked like a truly emotionally beaten team.  Nothing went right.  Pucks bounced off sticks, passes went wide or were too long and ended up in an icing call, shots were deflected into the Q Centre netting by the dozens all night.  With only 6 games left in the series and the Grizzlies needing to win 4 out of the 6, the task was looking tall going into the Hap Parker Arena for three straight games this weekend.

Photo Credit - Christian Stewart ISN

And that's when I started thinking about Jim Valvano.  After a one year fight with cancer, Coach Valvano would die in 1993 shortly after the 10th year anniversary of the 83' Championship.  On Tuesday night I started to think about what he would if he were alive to the Grizzlies during this treacherous road to the Fred Page Cup.  I started to think long and hard about Survive and Advance.

Down early in Game 2 on a Powell River Johnny Evans goal, the Grizzlies looked like they were on their way to another long night.  But before the period was out, Ayden Macdonald, fresh off a two game suspension, would tie the game at 1-1 on a beautifully crafted play by Kevin Massy.  Best of all, the tie game held firm as both goalies turned away shot after shot.

Photo Credit - Christian Stewart ISN

With less than 3 minutes to play last night and with the score all knotted up at 1-1, I literally saw first-hand the principles of Survive and Advance.  Michael Stiliadis faced Brent Lashuk literally 5 feet in front of his crease, alone with the puck. One shot, a save, a second shot up higher, another save, a Grizzlies defenseman to the rescue, a sudden clearance and the danger had passed.  Or so it seemed.  Only moments later another wide open blistering shot, this time from the left D man and another huge stop by Stiliadis.  Survive and Advance.

With overtime looming the Grizzlies went to their Dressing Room with a 32-25 shot advantage.  No matter what happened in OT, the players would be able to look in the mirror with the full knowledge that they could do it, they could compete and play with the Kings.  The chances on net, not only the shots were far more in favour of the Grizzlies.

Photo Credit - Christian Stewart ISN

The Overtime literally played out almost in slow motion. Three minutes in, facing the Kings top line of Keats, Lashuk and Lukosevicius and under serious pressure in the Grizzlies end, Cole Pickup would tip a pass to the point and through the legs of Tony DeVito.  The play would see Pickup stretched at arms length and sprawled on the ice in a full extension to knock the puck free.  Using every inch of his 6'1'' frame, the Langford native would get just enough of the puck to send it down the right side of the ice and down towards the Grizzlies bench.

Seizing the moment, PJ Conlon who had been stymied numerous times in both games would sprint down the ice at full stride and beat the Kings defenseman Colton Sandberg to the puck.  After battling to retain possession, Conlon would pass the puck back to the point to Pickup who had re-joined the play.  It was at that moment that Chris Harpur would power his way into the offensive zone and yelling for the puck, Pickup would oblige the Niagara On The Lake born defenseman with a smooth saucer pass.  Taking his time, Harpur would quickly fire off a trademark left handed wrist shot high and over the left shoulder and glove of Kings goaltender Brett Magnus.  The puck found the top right corner of the net.  It was the biggest goal of not only Harpur's career but the biggest for the hockey club all season.

Photo Credit - Christian Stewart ISN

The Q Centre erupted and the series was tied 1-1.  Survive and Advance.

With Games 3, 4 and 5 all set for this weekend, the Grizzlies will travel to the Hap Parker in an attempt to accomplish something which they have not done all series and that of course is lead.  Heck the Grizzlies have yet to actually lead in an actual game.  Yes, the Grizzlies have not yet won a game this year at The Hap, but that's OK, they seem to have a new mentality going and it is serving them well.

Survive and Advance.  Jimmy V would be proud. -CC

 

Numbers Never Lie: The Victoria Grizzlies Heading Into The 2015 BCHL Playoffs

I always liked math, there was some sort of honesty thing there for me I seemed to find.  Numbers are funny.  You can always count on them.  They may not always mean everything, but they almost always mean something.  On the eve of the playoffs, there are a lot of things going through my mind but most of all its the simple adage that numbers never lie.

 

I noticed a recent trend with the Grizzlies and it might not be what you think.  Everyone is of course very pleased with the team’s recent 7 game win streak. Its the longest of the year for the team and the longest current win streak in the BCHL.  When I crunched the math, I noticed that since the coaching change on 30 Nov, the Grizzlies have only lost 8 games in the “Outright Loss” column.  That is 8 losses in 32 games under Coach Didmon or exactly 25% of the time.  Under the old coaching regime, the Grizzlies were losing games via the outright loss stat at 38.46% of the time.     

 

Thus prior to December, there was almost a 40% chance that a Grizzlies game would end in a loss and not even get to OT.  Since that time, that figure has been cut almost in half.  And most of all, for large chunks of that time, the Grizzlies have been doing it without the services of Thomas Gobeil, Garrett Forster or Matt Kennedy.  Frankly, I find that astonishing. 

 

Here is a fun and  great trivia question for you: Who was the last player in BCHL history to record back to back Double OT game winning goals?  The answer is of course Kevin Massy of the Victoria Grizzlies.  Yes, "K Mass" as I like to call him is a lot of things: The Undisputed Captain of The Bus, a dominant power forward and crushing D Man, but he is now the answer to a great BCHL trivia question which I will assume could stand for a long time.  A long time.  Numbers, especially crazy numbers do that sometimes, they linger.

 

So the Grizzlies enter the 2015 BCHL Playoffs in less than 24 hours and we know who they will face, the Powell River Kings.  The Kings are team the Grizzlies haven't fared well against all year, let's be honest.  But I don't think any of that matters right now to anyone who will be wearing black on the ice tomorrow night at the Q Centre.  Nope, not with the week they've just had.  Not with these numbers.

 

The Grizzlies did have quite a week.  On Wednesday it was up to The Island Savings Centre where they dispatched the Cowichan Valley Capitals in a relatively routine performance and they even trailed 1-0 early. Chris Harpur showed flashes of his not yet fully tapped future pro talent again with a goal and a helper while Dane Gibson scored a pair and so did the resurgent Ayden MacDonald.  Most significant and sadly for Caps fans however was the signature moment of the game.  That of course was Thomas Gobeil, their former star stamping out any hope with an Empty Net goal to close out the night.  It was a seminal moment where you could actually see two hockey organizations going in two completely different directions.  But that's hockey, that's math.

 

Then on Friday night in Nanaimo, with about a minute left in the game, Gibson would set up Meirs Moore with a clutch game tying goal and keep that "8 losses in 32 games" stat safe for the time being.  Then in Double OT, Kevin Massy would remind everyone why he should shoot more, booming a one time slap shot from Team Captain Sean McBride past one of the top goalies in the entire league. The goal brought the magic number from half a game to zero for the Grizzlies to earn home ice advantage in Round 1. That was a reality which seemed impossible when Didmon took over in December.  Yes in November the math looked impossible, at least it did for me.

 

One night later, with 3 AP players in the lineup, Massy would do it again, score in Double OT, setting a BCHL record in so doing.  But not before the lightly heralded supporting cast around the club brought a packed Q Centre to its feet on numerous occasions. At times it was the quick hands of Nick Guiney stealing pucks and feeding Penalty Kill Specialist P.J. Conlon.  At other times it was Spencer Hunter doubling his season goals tally in a single game, scoring two goals, one in the North End of the rink and then a second goal in the South End.  It was the proverbial coming out party of the year for Hunter, his confidence brimming, the 14 and 15 year old girls in attendance all swooning each time the handsome winger tapped the glass in elation after his goals.  Those numbers, the  swooning numbers, they actually mean something.

 

Back to Kevin Massy.  His Double OT winner was huge and for a somewhat and perhaps unimportant but nevertheless significant footnote on the season.  It marked the Grizzlies 219th goal on the Regular Season placing the team alone in 2nd Place in the league in goals scored.  Only Nanaimo had more goals scored at 235.  Had the season gone on another week or two, the Clippers would likely have fallen behind the Grizzlies in that category as well.  And in assists, the team finished the season with a league best 392 "apples", more than even the Clippers at 378.  Maybe its not just another number.

 

Meanwhile in net Michael Stiliadis was excellent on his two nights of work as was Sean Cleary on Saturday in a game which on paper didn't mean much in terms of points, but in terms of maintaining playoff momentum, it might have meant the world. 

 

So off we go into the bright blue yonder of the Playoffs tomorrow night at the Q Centre.  There won't be a Matt Kennedy in the lineup, although every day that goes by however, his shoulder gets stronger.  In the meantime, the team is peaking at exactly the right time.  Not even in the 2000/2001 Fred Page Cup Championship Season did a Grizzlies/Salsa/Warriors franchise go into the post season this hot.  I haven't seen this once since 1991 when I first started watching the Warriors out at The JDF.

 

And that brings me to my final stat of the night, before I sign off and put the 2014/15 Regular Season officially in the books with the most important number of them all. That is the number zero.

 

There are literally now twenty two players all pulling on the same rope, night in and night out of this Grizzlies hockey club.  There are zero passengers on this hockey club.  Zero.  Everybody matters, everyone, even the 4th line players have a voice in this team and each player will have a verse or two to write in this post season.  Each know they will have a chance at "their moment" when the time comes.

 

And that in the end I think is the number Coach Didmon has been seeking all year, the number zero.  If he could get that "passenger number" to zero and get everyone to buy in to his way of playing and his system, the team could maybe pull off one of the most remarkable comeback seasons in league history.  That is of course if its true what they say about numbers.

 

You know?  How numbers never lie.

 

 

These Are Not The October Grizzlies: Two More Big Wins

I wrote in a blog back in October 2014 about my theory of what the Victoria Grizzlies would look like in the month of February.  There were signs back in the Fall that this club possessed a lot of raw talent and potential. After leading by a sizable margin early in an October game, the Grizzlies lost a heart-breaker vs the West Kelowna Warriors on a Sunday afternoon.  I wrote at the time, that the game revealed to me a lot about the Grizzlies’ character and self-belief.  I felt that by the time of the playoffs, they would be more self-assured as a hockey club and that they would trust themselves to close out games much better.

 

Photo Credit - Christian Stewart - ISN

Well, don’t look now, but it’s almost March and the Grizzlies have just won 4 games in a row and are 7-2-0-1 over their last ten games.  Those games included a comeback (4-3 OT win) vs Alberni Valley last Wednesday and then a major triumph over the Powell River Kings.  Remember, they have managed to do all of this without Matt Kennedy, Garret Forster and Thomas Gobeil.  The Grizzlies of February 2015 are a very different team.

 

Photo Credit - Christian Stewart - ISN

If you were writing this up as a script on how to arrive at the Playoffs in top form, this is how you would do it.  I pointed out last week why I believe this team is the “#1 Most Dangerous Team” heading into the 2014/15 BCHL Playoffs.  The Grizzlies are that prototypical team you just don’t want to meet in the playoffs.  I was speaking to several unnamed opposition team officials over the last few weeks and several pointed out to me how much they hoped that the Grizzlies would end up playing the Clippers in the First Round.  They believe that probably no team in the Island Division is more capable of a First Round upset of the Clippers than the Victoria Grizzlies.  But now we all know that the Grizzlies will not face the Clippers in the First Round.

 

So where then does that leave the Grizzlies with one week left to go before the playoffs?

 

First of all let’s look at the bad news.  Matt Kennedy is still out of the lineup after only two weeks post surgery.  The good news is the fact that he will have a third straight week to convalesce prior to the playoffs.  The next bit of bad news is Garrett Forster being out of the lineup with another bothersome upper body injury.  But unlike Kennedy, his return is likely for Game 1 of Round #1.  Next is the issue are the minor injuries at this time of year. The Grizzlies no doubt have a few players who could certainly use a break.  The good news there is that quality AP players are available if needed.

 

Photo Credit - Christian Stewart - ISN

Now the good news: The Grizzlies just won a game in OT and while that should not be cause for a victory parade down Goldstream Avenue, it is a big psychological plus for the club.  Goaltending which has been good all year is actually becoming excellent down the stretch and Michael Stiliadis in the last several games has been impressive.  What is most remarkable for me is the team's goals against average in the 3^rd period over the last 4 games, a grand total of 4 goals, thus averaging out to a 1.00 GOA over the last four 3^rd periods.  Stiliadis and the defensive corps have been great at locking down the defensive end as of late. Saturday night vs Powell River was a prime example.

 

That brings me to the defensive core of the team.  You may have noticed a bit of swagger in the team around a small but equally tight group of defensemen, who have recently given themselves the moniker of “D Corps”.  D Corps and more specifically the play of D Corps has been impressive all year but now this group of players has begun to identify themselves as something of a key piece of the team’s overall identity.  D Corps is confident, loose and less inclusive than a group of Grade 9 girls in the school cafeteria.  In short, these 6-7 players really have each other’s back and it shows.

 

Photo Credit - Christian Stewart - ISN

Next there is the recent play of the supporting cast.  Coach Didmon recently called upon his 3^rd and 4^th line players to step up their play in view of the loss of the aforementioned players.  Ayden MacDonald has scored 3 goals in the last four games.  Cole Pickup has scored a pair himself in that span of games.  Add to that is the play of defensemen Zach Dixon who has amassed no less than 2 goals and 3 assists.  There is the support play of D-man Jake Emilio who has himself been on a tear over the last few weeks, with a clutch goal vs Powell River on Saturday and overall stalwart defensive play.  Meanwhile, Captain Shawn McBride has been a “Steady Eddy” type of leader throughout.

 

Next is the Penalty Kill.  Not only has it been excellent all year, but it was able to withstand a sustained period of 5 on 4 and then a 6 on 4 Kings Powerplay over the final half of the 3^rd period during Saturday’s incredible 3-2.  This was accomplished while key PK specialists like P.J. Conlon and Zach Dixon were serving the very penalties in question.  That final portion of the game demonstrated team resilience and depth, not to mention guts.

 

Photo Credit - Christian Stewart - ISN

Then there is the play of the “Hands Line Modified”.  Dane Gibson at 84 points is flirting with a 90 point season this year.  With 3 games left to play, Gibson has already earned the distinction of being the highest scoring Grizzlies player since Tyler Bozak and his 128 points in the 06-07 Season.  Gibson at +19 along with Brett Gruber at +18, have lead the team in +/- since 1 Dec, 2014.  Linemates Jay Mackie, Matt Kennedy and Garrett Forster have all contributed to playing on this line throughout the year and each have been key.

 

Photo Credit - Christian Stewart - ISN

Finally there is the ultimate Wild Card and possible “Ace In-The Hole”, Thomas Gobeil.  Not since Steve Sigaty of the Fred Page Cup Champion 2000/2001 Victoria Salsa has there been a more impactful January Trade Deadline acquisition as Gobeil.  With no less than 10 goals in 14 games as a Grizzlie player, Gobeil has amassed this amazing goal scoring record in spite of two games in which he was ejected early.  To put it plainly, Gobeil is a lights out offensive dynamo.  He has a pro shot and hands which has seen him make countless BCHL defensemen look foolish at times.  His play has been remarkable and he could be the difference in a close series.

 

Photo Credit - Christian Stewart - ISN

In conclusion, I really like the look of this February Grizzlies team.  Now I wonder what it might look like at the end of March.

The Grizzlies Should Be The Unknown: A Weekend Recap

I am not a gambler, in fact I have never had much interest in such things.  Other than my $20 Playoff Hockey Pool and my Annual NCAA Final Four College Basketball Pool, I would say that I almost never lay a bet on anything for that matter.  When I was in Las Vegas a couple of years ago, I walked up to at a $5 Blackjack Table just for fun with a $20 bill in my wallet and walked away penniless in about the time I can hold my breath at the bottom of a swimming pool.  Get the picture?

 

I know nothing about gambling or odds or Vegas Bookies other than the fact that those guys sure know what they are doing and rarely lose money.  But one thing I do know is that the one fear for bookies is the concept of the unknown.  In sports, that’s the team who nobody can figure out, the golfer who suddenly gets hot  2 weeks before The Masters or the race car driver who suddenly catches lightning in a bottle at Daytona.

 

 

I always loved Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson in The Colour of Money as he described to Tom Cruise's girlfriend in the film the concept of “the unknown” in gambling and the power of it:

 

As Fast Eddie sat watching Cruise's character cleaning up the balls on the pool table he remarked: “He should be the unknown. I mean that would be nice, that would be beautiful.  You could play around with that, you could control that. You know what I mean?”  In the scene you could see his mind racing at the thought of leveraging for profit the phenom Cruise's ability in 9-Ball.

 

What a weekend the Grizzlies had last weekend, two big wins and both featuring a bucket full of goals and tons of offense. First to fall were the Alberni Valley Bulldogs who fell 8-4 to the Grizzlies. The first period started with by both clubs exchanging Power Play goals, the Grizzlies Thomas Gobeil scoring his 8th as a Grizzly in only 11 games played for Victoria.  Jay Mackie and Ayden MacDonald would make it 3-1 in favour of the Grizzlies by the end of two periods and the vibe in the Q Centre was "two points on the way".  But the 3rd Period was when the gasoline would really get poured on the fire offensively for the Grizzlies.  Brett Gruber would score a hat trick, his second of the year and Dane Gibson, Cole Pickup (Shorthanded) and Zach Dixon would also all score. The game would end 8-4 Grizzlies. The debacle of the previous weekend seemed a distant memory.

 

There would be more of the same the very next night with a 6-2 victory over the Prince George Spruce Kings and it would be thanks to many of the weekend's usual suspects in the scoring.  In the 1st Period, Cole Pickup would bat a puck out of mid air in the crease to open the scoring and the Ayden MacDonald would score 11 seconds into the 2nd Period, all of which would setup the Grizzlies for a routine victory on the night. Dane Gibson who would eventually be named BCHL Player of The Week would score two goals in the second half of the contest as would Brett Gruber and Zach Dixon, each picking up a goal themselves.

 

The Victoria Grizzlies are two weeks away from the playoffs and without question they are the BCHL’s absolute #1 “Unknown Team”.  They are without debate the most dangerous team heading into the playoffs.  If Eddie Felson was the “Stakehorse” of the Grizzlies right now, he would be very exited about the prospect of what he might be able to do concerning controlling the unknown.

 

Here is my Top 10 List as to why the Grizzlies are the most dangerous team in the league heading into the playoffs. 

 

1)      The Grizzlies Powerplay performance is tops at 26.85% efficiency, a full 2 percentage points against their nearest competitor, Alberni Valley.
2)      The team has scored no less than 58 Powerplay goals on the season and now sits at #2 in the league in that category.  Alberni Valley has scored 60, but with 25 more opportunities.  
3)      The Grizzlies have no less than five players at 20 goals and potentially could finish the year with ten players at 10+ goals scored before the playoffs commence.  On any given night any of the 20 skaters can score.
4)      The Grizzlies have scored 198 goals on the season and with 5 games to go, that number could easily eclipse the figures of previous seasons including those of the entire “Fitzgerald Era”.  
5)      The Grizzlies possess the scariest set of offensively gifted D-Men in the BCHL with no less than 34 goals scored by the defensemen so far.  No other team is close.  Even the BCHL goal scoring champion Nanaimo Clippers have only scored 29 goals by their D-Men. 
6)      The Penalty Killers are the league’s best as far as I am concerned.  Not only can these PK specialists shut down the opposition during the man advantage, but they can score as well.  The Grizzlies are tied with Coquitlam in Short-handed goals at 12. 
7)      The supporting cast features a large number of players all of whom can and do contribute to the offense on a nightly basis.  In short this team can flat out put the puck in the net and on some nights, they look like they can score for fun, all four lines.
8)      The Grizzlies lead the BCHL with no less than 361 assists, while the Nanaimo Clippers who have scored 24 more goals on the season have registered only 357 assists.  What does that mean?  It means that the Grizzlies can pass the puck better than any other team in the league.
9)      Opposition Shots on Goal (SOG) have fallen all year.  The team which was being outshot 46% of the time under the old coaching regime is now being outshot only 25% of the time, a drop of 20 full percentage points in less than three months.
10)   The Grizzlies goalies do not lead the league in very many categories, but the team goals against average has been slowly dropping all year in spite of several lop-sided shocker losses games from earlier in the season.  In short they are far better now than they were in October. Far better.

 

The analytics look good, yes, but best of all is the radar scope.  The Grizzlies, through no fault of their own have managed to very quietly amass this incredible record.  And nobody is watching.  Walk around your average BCHL rink on  Friday night, I do.  You know what I hear?  "Penticton, its over, the Vees, they have it.  Nanaimo will finish second, they're too good." 

 

The Grizzlies have done all this largely by virtue of the fact that they have lost a good number of close games and also suffered 10 Overtime losses this season.  The good news on that is that 4 on 4 and 3 on 3 OTs do not exist in the Playoffs.  In any playoff games in which the Grizzlies find themselves tied after 60 minutes, both teams will play OT with 5 skaters.  That will help the Grizzlies who have frankly not been great all year in 4-4 OT. 

 

But back to that original point, the Grizzlies might just be getting hot at right about the perfect time of the year.  If they keep this up, they will be like a heavily armed supersonic attack aircraft travelling at tree top level, well under enemy radars, all ready to pounce on any unsuspecting target along the way.  Most BCHL pundits can’t see that.  But I can and I don't even play pool.

 

 

 

All I know is that if Fast Eddie was here, I think he would know exactly what to do in this situation.  I mean that would be nice, that would be beautiful.

Ok Houston, We've Had A Problem Here

Hollywood Director Ron Howard actually made a movie which quoted those famous words from the April, 1970 moon mission of Apollo 13, his famous film by the same name.  The actual words were not spoken by Tom Hanks’ character, Mission Commander (CDR) Jim Lovell, but by Second in Command, Command Module Pilot (CMP) Jack Swagert.  When Swagert first reported trouble on that fateful evening in 1970 he did not yet know that in fact Oxygen Tank 2 (O2 #2) had exploded inside his spacecraft.  But for both he and his other fellow crewmen, Fred Haise and Commander Jim Lovell, they faced as a team a massive series of audible and visual alarms throughout the spacecraft.

Realizing instantly that something was seriously wrong with his ship, Swigert chose to use a rare and almost never used word in flying, the word “problem”.  And thus were born those famous words, which now appear in our day to day parlance when things go badly astray.  To this day, you will hear people sometimes say in the midst of catastrophe:  “OK Houston, we’ve had a problem here.”


As I watched Matt Kennedy make his way down the Players’ Tunnel on Friday night, I didn’t say those famous words on the air at the time, but I sure thought them in my head.  I am no clairvoyant by any means, but I knew instantly that the Victoria Grizzlies had just blown Oxygen Tank #2.

The Grizzlies problems however go well beyond simply a season ending shoulder injury to Powerplay Specialist and #2 Man on The Hands Line, Matt Kennedy.  Thomas Gobeil, the Grizzlies “Mark Messier” as I like to call him, is also out for some time and there are several others who are hurting.  Many are suffering from the February bumps and bruises which makes day to day play a struggle at times.  Beyond that, there is the issue of goaltending and overall team defense, an issue which has seen the Grizzlies outscored 13-3 in the span of the past two games.  To put it plainly, the Grizzlies readout display is blaring out what can only be described as a large number of “Cautions and Warnings”.

 

 

But lets’ go back to that fateful night in Houston in 1970 and the man who would change the course of events for that doomed spacecraft.  His name was Gene Kranz.  Kranz was a chain smoking steely eyed missile man and the Lead Flight Controller in Houston that night.  There he stood alone with a room full of controllers, engineers and computer experts all looking at him for guidance.  As he stood there amid a plethora of malfunctions, problems, alarms, not to mention an oxygen leaking spacecraft which was hurtling towards the moon partially out of control, he calmed everyone down instantly as he lit up another cigarette and said something which got everyone’s attention.  In short Kranz, who was Korean War veteran, simply would not panic in the moment of crisis.

In that moment he looked at his group of highly concerned, but equally competent controllers and then specifically to his Environmental Electrical and Control Officer (EECOM), an engineer by the name of Sy Leibergot to ask a simple question:

 

 

Kranz asked Leibergot, “Sy, let’s try and look at this thing from a standpoint of status; what have we got on the spacecraft that’s good?”

That question set off a sequence of events which culminated with the discovery of a series of answers and solutions which eventually lead to Apollo 13 returning safely to the Earth just 3 days later.  That return journey to Earth was filled with ad hoc repairs, large scale technical improvisations amid the highest drama in the history of spaceflight.  To this day, the work of Gene Kranz and his team of engineers and flight controllers in Houston in April of 1970 is considered by many historians as NASA’s finest hour.
 

 

I can only imagine what must be going on inside the office of General Manager and Head Coach Craig Didmon at the moment.  I suspect that both he and his very own “Cy Leibergot”, Assistant Head Coach, Scott Hawthorne are very busy at the moment trying to figure out what exactly they have "on the spacecraft" that's good.  You know, from a standpoint of status?

 

The fact remains that the Grizzlies still have seven regular season games left before they can begin their 2015 playoff run and there are still a great many problems.  There is no question that they will have to improvise and come up with their own series of ad hoc repairs. They know that this is what is required in order to get their season completed and get the Grizzlies heading into the playoffs as a team to be feared rather than a team to be beaten.  So I thought I would play a little bit of Sy Leibergot myself and offer you Grizzlies fans what I see in terms of what we have "left on the spacecraft" that's good.

The Powerplay is certainly damaged but it isn’t broken beyond repair.  Brett Gruber, Dane Gibson, Garret Forster and Jay Mackie can still move the puck around more than well enough.  Once Gobeil is back, he along with Jake Emilio will both be able to blast their trademark one timer slap shots just like before. Will it be as good a Powerplay without the vision and hands of Kennedy?  Likely no, but the Grizzlies will have to make do and forwards like Cole Pickup, Shawn McBride and Kevin Massy will have to play a bigger role.

 

That move should allow the astronauts to close the Reac Valves to Fuel Cells #1 and #3 and shut down the electrical control systems in the Command Module (CM) and stop the oxygen leak.

 

Next comes the problem of the The Hands Line, missing such a key piece as Kennedy. The line will see another player, likely Forster, an original member of the Hands Line anyway, to re-join the group and play the role of shooter while Gibson and Gruber will have to handle the puck a little more than before.

 

This decision will give the astronauts time to power up the Lunar Module (LEM) and use it as a “lifeboat” for the free-return trajectory and sling shot it around the dark side of the moon for a return to Earth.

 

Next is the issue of problems in goal.  The Grizzlies need a new approach; they need a goal-tending coaching emphasis on puck/play tracking and aggressive D-Zone team defense.  It must be one which will put all 5 skaters on notice in terms of the back-check and establish break-out responsibilities clear to all 4 lines.  They will have 4 days of practice including today to figure it out before they face the hot Alberni Valley Bulldogs on Friday night.

 

This step will allow the astronauts to fire the Decent Engine on the LEM at “Pericynthion + 2” (closest approach to the moon +2 hrs) for exactly 1 minute and 24 seconds, speeding up the return journey to the earth by about ten hours and allowing for a Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean rather than the Indian Ocean which will help the recovery forces.

Is everybody following me so far?  OK listen up, there's more.

 

Next is the issue of the Penalty Kill and missing players in the lineup.  PK specialists PJ Conlon, Mitch Barker, Cody Van Lierop and Zach Dixon who have been great all year, will have to do be even better in the next month.  Next, the team will likely need to call up the services of AP players like Tyler Welsh of the Campbell River Storm or Mark Krabben of the Okanagan Rockets Major Midget team to shore up the club for as long as necessary. And they will need to play lights out.

 

This procedure will provide the crew with the ability to rig an improvised system to adapt the Command Module's square carbon dioxide scrubber cartridges to fit the Lunar Module’s, which take a round cartridge to solve the issue of rising carbon dioxide levels in the spacecraft and allow them to breath safe levels of the poisonous gas from their expelled breath for their 3 day return journey to Earth.

 

Next the club will need to get more out of the 3^rd and 4^th lines.  The 4^th Line which has been solid all year will now have to not only check well, but will now be called upon to score the odd goal in view of the lost offense from the absences or Gobeil and Kennedy.  Ayden MacDonald, Spencer Hunter and Nick Guiney will each have to look inside themselves and find a level of their game which they haven’t been asked to deliver yet this season.

 

This set of start-up procedures written by NASA engineers in Houston will ensure that the Command Module (CM) can be safely powered up by using only a miniscule amount of amperage left in the batteries. Once the CM is powered up after three days in sub-freezing temperatures, the astronauts will be able to leave the LEM return to the CM and use it for re-entry.
 

 

Lastly, the Grizzlies will have to look at one and other.  Along with the rest of the team, Chris Harpur, Meirs Moore, Sean Cleary, Tomba Huddelstan and Michael Stiliadis will each need to find a way, any way to make themselves just that little bit better before the end of the year.
 

 

This final course correction will allow the Command Module to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere at the precise angle required in order to safely make a successful Splashdown.

That’s how the Grizzlies can save their season. "Houston, this is ODYSSEY, its good to see you again."
 

Just like that famous moment in April 1970, it will take the entire team, the players, the coaches and the back-room staff to save the ship.  They will each have to accept the fact that major injuries and less than ideal play are all part of any hockey season and that the answers can only be found in the Dressing Room, from within.  And with that attitude and commitment, just like Apollo 13, saving their season from catastrophe may in the final analysis end up being the Grizzlies finest hour. -CC