The Secret Formula: Grizzlies 7-0

Ask any hockey coach in any league and the formula is simple.  Combine great goaltending with a strong defence and timely goal scoring and you have the makings for winning hockey.  Throw in solid Special Team play and you pretty much have the whole package.  It is a formula for winning which can take you very far. 

Well guess what?  That's the 2015/16 Victoria Grizzlies.  Well now it is anyway....

The Grizzlies have great goaltending and not only that but it is a very deep position.  Mitchell Benson was likely not expecting to start in Nanaimo last night after getting the nod vs Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday.  But with a precautionary rest to Matt Galajda, the versatile back-up came in and stopped 44 shots out of the 47 he faced and stonewalled the frustrated Nanaimo Clippers for the very first time this season.  Dam Buster Benson as I like to call him did it again.  On 27 Sep he registered his team's first very BCHL win and broke the win-loss dam wide open.  Last night he blew open the dam on the (previously 6-0 vs Victoria) Nanaimo Clippers in front of almost 1,700 screaming fans at the Frank Crane.  The atmosphere there was electric!  Best BCHL game I have watched in years.

Benson, first to register a win vs Clippers this season

One week earlier it was Galajda in a 36/37 stop performance vs the superb Salmon Arm Silverbacks at The Q Centre in a game which gave the net minder 1st Star honours in the come form behind 4-1 win.  I have been saying this all year: for 18 year old goalies, Galajda and Benson are easily the best 1-2 punch in the entire league.  They stack up almost even statistically vs the older and more experienced pair of Brodeur and Driscoll in Penticton. And they do this in spite of being on a Victoria team which started the year 1-11.  Think about how hard that is to do?  That's an incredible turnaround.

Then you add to that formula, the uber strong Grizzlies defensive corps this season and things soon get very tough on opponents. Last night is a case in point.  After retaking the lead for the second time on another patented Kevin Massy walk-in play from the point, the Grizzlies had a problem. Suddenly finding themselves down to 4 defensemen with injuries to Drayson Pears and an ejection to KMass early in the third, the Grizzlies needed help on D.

#2 Bennis and #4 Stevens key to win in Nanaimo

And what did the Grizzlies D-Corps do?  Well for starters, Team America World D, Jake Stevens and Chuck Bennis, they just flat out put the entire Grizzlies team on their back at one point and basically said:  "Don't worry everyone all the terrorists are dead." The D-pair simply blocked shots, made huge hits, cleared pucks and made countless smart defensive plays all night.  At one point in the game The Undertaker, Chuck Bennis on a Lucas Finner breakaway chased the Clipper player so hard that with one hand and that classic 9' reach of his, he managed to dislodge the puck from Finner and send it harmlessly to the corner while avoiding a penalty which 9 times out of 10 would occur to a lesser defenseman in that situation.

Stalwart Defensemen like Chuck Bennis, are a big part of the Grizzlies Secret Sauce in 2016

But it didn't end there.  Brett Stirling who lead all Grizzlies last night with a +4 rating on the evening had no less than 2 back to back solo rushes ahead of his forwards in the third period alone. He did this knowing full well that not only was his team down to only 4 defensemen for the entire 3rd period in a tight 5-3 game on the road but that trusty Equipment Man, Mel Smith had forgotten to bring the team's Oxygen tank on the bus. Cody Van Lierop was equally outstanding with a +2 rating and an assist on Dante Hahn's late first period go-ahead goal.

Could #6 Brett Stirling's "Boy Band Good Looks" and rock hard play soon be signing a deal with Boost Oxygen as their new franchise spokesperson?

Offensively, it was a night of late back breakers for the hapless Clippers.  No sooner would Nanaimo take the lead when an unlikely Grizzlie player would answer.  A perfect example was #61 and red hot Alex Peck, jumping on a lose puck and burying his 4th of the year with just 1.9 secs left in the 2nd period.  Timely goal scoring indeed.  That's been the formula since The Mid Island Meltdown and the forwards are bringing it every night.

I would bet that preparing to face Victoria must be very tough for opposing coaches on most nights.  You just never know which Grizzlies forward is going to step up and hurt you.  Mitchell Barker, who has scored 4 goals in his past 5 games, assisted again last night on Massy's tying goal in the first period.  Barker who unfortunately was later ejected for a Hitting From Behind Minor Penalty has been as good as any of the suddenly white hot 3rd and 4th Liners for the Grizz.



#26 Barker, is just one more veteran getting hot at the right time of the year

And the leaders continue to just do their business night in and night out.  PJ Conlon (+2) sporting what Moe from Slap Shot would have called  "a very deep cut" after getting a stick to the face, just skated back to the bench and let Steph Tamboline patch him up and send him right back out again.  He never missed a shift.  Conlon who is quietly rocketing up the scoring stats with another 3 points last night is leading players like Cole Pickup (also 3 points and +3), Brayden Gelsinger (1 assist and +1) and Dante Hahn (1 goal, +1) with a quiet and understated leadership style which reminds me at times of a younger Brian Skrudland.



PJ Conlon (right), alongside Cole Pickup (left) in the Frank Crane Dressing Room last night after getting repairs

The Grizzlies will take on the Alberni Valley Bulldogs tonight in the hopes of pushing this 7-0 BCHL winning streak to 8 wins tonight in front of what will hopefully be a very big crowd at The Q Centre.  In the meantime, we will await any league supplementary discipline which could get handed out to Massy or Barker in view of the aforementioned ejections from last night. We shall see. 

Regardless, my sense is that this Grizzlies team is starting to seriously turn some heads around the league.  With Alberni HC Kevin Willison and A/HC Adam Hayduk both in attendance scouting the game last night, in Nanaimo, it was clear to me that important people are definitely starting to pay attention.  With a night off, it would not surprise me at all if I saw Clippers HC Mike Vandekamp and AC Blake Clement in Colwood this evening.  I think it is safe to say that a lot of hockey officials and fans are becoming very much interested in this Grizzlies Secret Formula.  See you tonight. -CC

Flying Under The Radar, Grizzlies Saga Continues

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

Alleged designer of Grizzlies 2015/16 Schedule

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

 

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



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

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