Grizzlies 2015/16 Year End Wrap Up

With the West Kelowna Warriors now officially crowned as the 2015/16 Fred Page Cup Champions, the time has now come to close the books officially on the past season of the Victoria Grizzlies.  Let's first properly congratulate the Warriors on a BCHL Championship with a special shout out to former Grizzlies forward, Garrett Forster who was traded to the Warriors last June for Brayden Gelsinger.  Now here is a really interesting but probably completely useless trivia question:  Which former original member of The Hands Line has won a Fred Page Cup?  It's not Brett Gruber or Matt Kennedy.  Nope, the answer is of course that third member of The Hands Line, Garrett Forster.  So congrats to Forsy who also just signed a DIV III scholarship with the St. Norbert College Green Knights of DePere Wisconsin. 

Living Room Trivia: "Bubble Hockey #9 Forsy" now has a  Fred Page Cup

And let's not forget about that other connection to Victoria in former Salsa Head Coach Rylan Ferster who of course lead the Warriors to the BCHL Championship this season.  So let's all wish Coach Fertser and the Warriors good luck as they play in the 2016 RBC Cup which at the time of publishing of this blog already had the Warriors 1-0 in the tournament.

A very happy WK Warriors squad after qualifying for the 2016 RBC Cup

Now in this episode we will attempt to dissect the latest season for the Grizzlies and of course I will attempt to discern what I can about the upcoming campaign.  But before I do that, I want to take a final moment and finish off talking about that plucky Jr. B team which made national headlines over the last month, a team which I talked at length about when we last spoke, the 100 Mile House Wranglers of the KIJHL.  Not only did they upset the host Victoria Cougars in the Cyclone Taylor Cup, but as most of you know by now, they went on to win the Keystone Cup the following week.  And they did it in typical thrilling fashion in the Championship Game, a 3-2 OT win over the much favoured Quakers.  What a season of Junior Hockey in BC for 2015/16.  First, West Kelowna wins the Fred Page Cup.  Next, in Jr. B the Wranglers, against all odds, won both the BC Championship and then the Western Canadian Championships.  What a year indeed.

I guess what I am really saying is that if the Grizzlies were ever going to pick a year to fail to qualify for the post season, well maybe last year was as good as any.  What I mean by that is that after the wild post season we just witnessed, not to mention the incredible year in Jr. B, few I doubt will recall that small detail about the Grizzlies non-playoff berth any time soon.  After all of the dust settled, it suddenly seemed to me in both Jr. A and in Jr. B that there were certain clubs with almost preordained destinies.  With that said, let's take a moment and pull out the box scores and review this past 2015/16 season.  For one final time let's look back at what was one of the most unusual and tumultuous seasons of Grizzlies Hockey.

I have tried to remind fans of the Grizzlies to step back and look at the bigger picture when they contemplate the past season and the somewhat disappointing end to the year.  What people often forget is that at this time last year, that the franchise was embroiled in a fairly heated lease negotiation with West Shore Parks and Recreation (WSPR) concerning their tenure at the Q Centre.  There were reports in the media about the Grizzlies possibly "turning out the lights" on the franchise. There was speculation all over the place about the club relocating to Campbell River.  Well as we all know, none of that ever happened.  WSPR came to an agreement on the lease and the Grizzlies now have 4 more years left on the current lease which will keep BCHL hockey in Colwood for the foreseeable future.  Then later in the year, there were some changes in the club's ownership model which would help simplify how the club would be run moving forward.  Best of all was attendance.  In spite of a losing season and a failure to qualify for the playoffs, the Grizzlies averaged over, 1,100 fans/game.   The "So What Factor" in all of this is that the Grizzlies organization averted what could have been certain disaster last season and attendance improved.  Now for the first time in many years they enjoy a much more stable future and steady ownership model.

New Q Centre 5 year lease signed in June 2015, potentially saved the Grizzlies franchise

So let's now talk specifics on Grizzlies hockey.  Losing 10 out of your first 11 games for any club would normally spell disaster.  Despite that, the Grizzlies nearly pulled off the impossible by going a huge winning streak in January.  At one point they had won 8 in a row.  Then on 29 January, the Grizzlies would defeat the Nanaimo Clippers at The Frank Crane for their only win of the season vs the eventual Island Division Champions.  Nobody knew it at the time, but that win would prove to be the Grizzlies' high water mark on the season.  After that however, the team would somehow manage to lose nearly every remaining game in their schedule and miss out on a playoff birth by the smallest of fractions to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.  It would be the first time the Grizzlies had failed to make the playoffs since 2011-2012.

From my perspective, it spite of some great leadership from players like PJ Conlon and Cody Van Lierop, it was a season which never seemed to gel for the Grizzlies.  Now every year you will have a player or two who just doesn't seem to work out. Those players usually move on to other opportunities, sometimes at lower leagues.  But last season it seemed that there was just an unending line of Grizzlies players who played a considerable amount of games, but unfortunately were just not able to remain at the BCHL level.  Here is just a small sample of the names of some of the highly touted players who only played a fraction of the season and were soon to move on.  Sage Fleming, Cal Walker, J.D. Falconer, Luc Soares, Corey Iapalucci and Colby Livingstone were all highly touted new arrivals last year.  Yet each player for one reason or another just were not able to finish the year with the club and ended up moving on.  That's six players who helped to make up the spine of the team but ultimately had to be let go.  In my humble opinion it was one of the key factors which really hurt the club last year.  Frankly, there just were not enough Dane Gibsons, Matt Kennedys or Meirs Moores in last year's Main Camp and it just became too much of a hill to climb for the seven returning veterans to manage.  In retrospect, it was probably just too big an ask of the veterans to try and carry the team throughout the season, a season which witnessed winning records in only the months of November and January.

Then there was the goal scoring.  While it certainly improved, there was a point in the first few months of the year when it looked like the Grizzlies might set new record lows in terms of goal scoring.  Thankfully, Coach Didmon and the staff managed to right the ship in that regard and certainly by the end of the year, the Grizzlies were scoring at a very healthy rate.  But that slow start left a mark on the season unfortunately.  In the end, the multitude of one goal losses spelled disaster; there just wasn't enough room to manoeuvre in terms of points and the club fell short of the playoffs.

With that said, the goals against were well down in 2015/16 and this represented a major improvement from the previous year.  The 210 goals against which the Grizzlies shipped in the run and gun high octane 2014/15 season, were well down this past year.  The team which was anchored by rookie 18 year old goaltenders Matt Galajda and Mitchell Benson were hard to score upon on most nights and the defencemen were all uniformly solid last year.  That figure of 210 goals surrendered from the season before was down to 178 goals against in 15/16, a significant improvement indeed.

When it came to Special Teams this year was really a bit of "A Tale of Two Cities" for the Grizzlies.  Here is what I mean by that.  When it came to the Power Play, the Grizzlies were #1 in that stat in 2014/15.  Fast forward one year and the club sat pretty much rock bottom all season long.  Even with the addition of Dante Hahn mid-way through the year, there was only a modest improvement in the PP percentage.  In my opinion, that was almost entirely a function of the fact that the Grizzlies returned not a single player from their league leading PP from the year before.  The opposite was true of the PK which lead the league for a considerable portion of this past season and ended at a respectable fifth in the league at 83.0%.  It was a PK system with almost all of the 2014-15 PK specialists returning this year, players like Mitchell Barker, Kevin Massy along with Conlon and Van Lierop,   The efficient PK combined with the anemic PP might leave some fans in a state of bewilderment, but for me, I found none of this surprising for the reasons mentioned thus far.  This was a club with tons of experience on the PK and it showed all year long.  But that was not the case when it came to the man advantage; the Grizzlies barely scrapped into second last position by year end at a measly 15.0% PP efficiency.

In summation, I would grade the Forwards with a C+.  It was a case of doing more with less in the early going but the in the end, all the forwards improved and that's what is important.  The defence I would give an A- in view of the major improvement in terms of goals allowed on the season.  Goaltending gets a nice A- in my opinion based largely on the fact that both goalies were BCHL rookies and at 18 years old held up remarkably well while under huge pressure, especially early on with all those one goal losses.  Special Teams gets a C- and that's largely a function of a PP which regrettably just wasn't up to it this past season.  Coaching earns a B+ for me. The big surprise for me was the quality of all of the rookie coaches who really got their first real taste of coaching both behind the bench and on the ice; Coach Didmon will have much more experience to help him in the next campaign.  General Manager and Ownership also gets a B+ on the year.  I liked the restructuring of the ownership model and the infusion of some new blood while selling off some smaller pieces of the pie.  But saving the franchise with the new Q Centre deal was the biggest takeaway on the season as far as I am concerned.  It was a season which might not have been had that deal turned pear shaped last summer.

And last but not least is the future.  Multi-talented forward Nathan Looysen (ex-Victoria Cougars)  who lead the VIJHL in points this past season will be back in his rightful place as a BCHL player next year.  I look to him to lead the offense as a 20 year old.  To me it was a shame he didn't feature in a Grizzlies shirt more than just twice last season.  Another ex-Cougar gifted D-Man, Nico Somerville along with VIJHL Rookie of the Year, Cam Thompson (ex-Peninsula Panthers) will be big pieces for the future and I look to both players to make an impact.  Much like Drayson Pears did last season with a full season of VIJHL hockey behind them, these players could all take big steps in 2016/17. 

A glimpse of 2016/17: from left, Cam Thompson, Nathan Looysen and Nico Somerville. Photograph By BRUCE STOTESBURY, Times Colonist 

As far as returning players go, the Shock and Awe Liners of Keyvan Mokhtari and Tyler Welsh should both have huge sophomore years in Jr. A.  The strong goaltending as we discussed should be stellar and if Coach Didmon can return both Galajda and Benson, the Grizzlies may just possess the best goaltending pair in the Island Division.  But for me the brightest outlook rests with this stalwart defensive corps.  Just listen to the names of these returning D-Men:  Jake Stevens, Cody Van Lierop, Brett Stirling and Drayson Pears.  Those four veteran blue liners, three being 20 year olds, may very well end up representing the very best top two D pairings in the entire league.  With an ultra-strong back end anchoring a more veteran bench in 16/17, this might finally be the year where Coach Didmon can ice a team built entirely by him. This team could have a serious chance of going deep in the playoffs next spring in my humble view.  Until then, enjoy your summer and we will talk to you next as Main Camp approaches in August. -CC

Interior Road Swing #1: C- Report Card

An Interior Road trip which featured, one win in three may be nothing to brag about but I almost want to Grade it a C-.  It’s not an excuse, but the old days of team travel are long over and that was an issue on Friday for the Grizzlies. Think about it.  The Grizzlies started their Friday at about 6:00am and they travelled for nearly 12 hours before their game time at 7pm that night.  In the old days, the team would have left on a Thursday with a road practice in somewhere like Hope, BC.  With a full night’s rest, the team would have arrived in Salmon Arm on Friday night and much more ready to take on the Silverbacks. 

 

But that was the old days.  In the old days, owners never thought twice about the costs associated with an extra day’s travel.  But in the old days an extra day’s travel budget wasn’t the $4,000/day like it is now.  In the old days that’s how you did things, heck clubs in those days were averaging 1,500+ fans.  But it’s no longer the old days now is it?  Today most teams suffer from lower attendances and they all suffer from much higher costs.  Teams simply can’t afford that extra day on the road.  Now teams have to do more with less.  And that’s what happened Friday night in Salmon Arm.  The Grizzlies faced a somewhat superior opponent at home and the visitors were forced into a 12 hour bus legs start.  Oh well, welcome to the fiscal realities of the BCHL in 2015.

 

 

But before I go on any further, let me take a quick moment and applaud the fans of the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.  That Shaw Centre they have there is absolutely fantastic.  Its not just the building, it’s the home town feel and love of their team which I respect.  So I went out for a short walk between periods and what I saw almost blew me away.  It was a total Home Town Friday Night Party.  It felt like everybody in town was at that game.  There were only 1,100 fans in that little building but it felt like way more. Almost every single one of them was decked out in either a Silverbacks t-shirt, ball cap, or jersey.  There was even a huge lineup to get into the club’s team store “The Backs Shack”.

   

 

Those not dressed in Silverbacks gear all had a souvenir program or something Silverbacks in their hand.  Plus, as you may know, The Shaw Centre has this cool gimmick whereby they hang a Silverback Gorilla stuffy on a zip line and whenever the Silverbacks score, guess what happens?  The Gorilla goes for a ride along the zip line and the fans all go nuts.  It was all very impressive, so I wanted to take a moment and give some props to the Silverbacks franchise and their fans on what I would argue was the best hockey atmosphere I have encountered thus far in this season.  So well done to Salmon Arm.  And come on Victoria, you can do it too!

 

Now back to “The Good The Bad and The Ugly” of the weekend.  The good, the Grizzlies beat Vernon 2-0 on Saturday night and Matt Galajda earned his first career BCHL shut out, so well done to the whole team on road victory #1 of the season.  The bad, the Grizzlies Powerplay went 0/18 on the weekend and dropped to dead last in the BCHL at 10.26% in PP efficiency.  The ugly, with only 5 goals all weekend and with the Grizzlies firing 126 total shots, the team allowed opposing goalies to post a .960 save percentage and neither of the three opposition net minders were that good.

 

Now with all that bad news, here is something to lighten your spirits, the arrival of another talented forward into Grizzlies camp, this time former Grizzlie Dante Hahn.  Hahn, no longer in his #13 will now wear Eric Lindros's old #88, a true classic.  (full disclosure, I didn't even know that we had an #88 in the kit room)  Hahn arrived via futures from the Coquitlam Express on Thursday.  He got one practice in and then travelled with the team early Friday.  He was the Grizzlies best forward on the road trip in my opinion.  He played Centre with #22 Brayden Gelsinger on his left side and #19 Colby Livingstone on Hahn's right, all of which worked rather well. 

 

Dante Hahn in action vs the Bulldogs in 2013, wearing his old #13

Hahn had a goal and an assist on a weekend which featured only 5 Grizzlie markers. Furthermore he was +1 over the three games which included a 5-1 loss to Salmon Arm.  So overall I would say that the 20 year old provided an immediate and much needed impact on the Grizzlies roster.  But here is the problem:  Hahn fits into the 22 man roster in view of #21 Spencer Hunter being placed on the 30 Day Disabled List.  But with Hahn playing so well and being an established BCHL 20 year old, there is little chance that he is going anywhere soon.  That means that on 10 Nov, Coach Didmon will be in a tough spot.  He will have to make a hard choice by that date, being forced to move a player off the roster, once he loses that 30 Day DL card and returns his club to a 22 man roster.

 

So since most of you missed all the action and offence on the road trip, here is a quick re-cap.

 

On Friday night, in the 3^rd period vs SA, Livingstone, got on the end of a Dante Hahn pass after a Hahn recovered his own rebound. Settling it onto his stick, Livingstone fired off an easy shot into an open net beating Silverbacks goalie, Brandon Kelger to make it 4-1.  On Saturday, #18 Nick Guiney finished off a nice #20 Tyler Welsh rebound to beat goalie Andrew Shortridge under his extended right pad after it looked like Shortridge had made the initial save.  In the 3^rd period, after a series of slick passes from #26 Mitchell Barker and #12 PJ Conlon, picking up the puck was #14 Cole Pickup who split the D after Conlon's long lead pass and went in on a breakaway and scored on his own rebound.  On Sunday vs the West Kelowna Warriors #22 Brayden Gelsinger scored his 2nd of the year off a perfect Livingtone backhand pass during a harmless looking 2 on 3 rush.  The final goal of the weekend was Barker's Shorthanded goal off an innocuous long range wrister after crossing the blue line. Conlon would be robbed of an assist, even though he clearly won the draw to the escaping Barker. 

 

The Grizzlies play three games in a row starting Thursday night when they travel up to The Frank Crane to take on the Clippers, game time 7pm.  That will be followed at home with Powell River on Thursday and Friday with Cowichan Valley.   Let's hope for an A.  Talk to you Wednesday at The Frank. -CC

Main Camp 2015 Preview

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

Grizzlies Mid Summer Report - Main Camp Coming Soon

It’s hard to believe but in less than three weeks, Grizzlies Main Training Camp will open on Friday 21 August in Colwood and the excitement is already beginning to build.

 

But before we get into that, there are a couple of formalities to get into before we start to examine the club, the proposed roster and new talent which will culminate with the main Training Camp.  First off, we have to mention the lease.  After a long and nearly unprecedented set of protracted negotiations, the West Shore Parks and Recreation and the Victoria Grizzlies came to an agreement on a lease deal in June. This guarantees that the Grizzlies will remain as the primary tenant at The Q Centre for the next five years.  This news is win-win for both organizations and thanks should be passed along to both parties, but let’s step back for a minute and look at the big picture for a moment.  That deal could have easily gone south. If it did, I don’t even want to imagine what the implications would have been, but I can tell you it would not have been good news for Grizzlies fans, that is for sure. 

 

The “so what factor” in all of this is that for the very first time in many seasons, the Grizzlies are now set and secure in terms of all the key support areas.  The team has a solid and committed ownership and Front Office, an established and successful GM/Head Coach and Coaching Staff, a set and experienced Back Room Staff. But now underlining all of that is a secure 5 year building lease deal which will ensure the viability of The Grizzlies in The West Shore for a minimum of five more years and likely much longer.  That institutional stability is something the club has been seeking for many years.  This year the Grizzlies will start a season with all four of these pillars in place which should set the conditions for success for not only this year but for the long term.    

 

Next, let’s take a quick moment and say proper farewell to three players, one of whom I accidentally missed in my last Grizzlies Gazette Blog in May.  That player of course is Goaltender Sean Cleary.  The Massachusetts native is returning to his home state this fall after inking an NCAA commitment to The University of Massachusetts-Lowell, so congratulations and good luck to Sean.  Next is the Grizzlies leader in Plus/Minus from last year and that of course was rock steady D Man, Zach Dixon.  The tall, stalwart Californian 20 year old defenseman signed a college commitment with the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point on 2 July and will play hockey at that school next season, so good luck also to Zach.  And by the way, Zach’s signing brings the team’s number of college commitments for last year to nine which makes 26 in the past three years, so well done to the organization and the players themselves with all the scholarships and commitments, that’s quite a haul.

 

Lastly, we must say farewell to last surviving member of the original 2014/15 Hands Line, #9, Garrett Forster.  Garrett was traded to the West Kelowna Warriors earlier this month for Brayden Gelsinger (95) who comes to the Grizzlies from the Warriors and previous to that, the Cowichan Valley Capitals.  Forster had many good years here as a Grizzlies player, but my favorite moment will always be his OT game winner last December.  His Bobby Orr like end to end rush vs the Merritt Centennials on Teddy Bear Toss Night was very special.  That wild rush which included jumping over a discarded stick while enroute to the Merritt net after beating all five Centennials skaters produced a thrilling 8-7 Grizzlies OT win.  The stick jump was but one of the many moves he made during that play which will stand for some time as one of The Q Centre’s most exiting moments in recent memory. 

 

That said, we want to open our arms and welcome Brayden Gelsinger to the Grizzlies.  The former WHL player is entering his 3^rd year in the BCHL after successful stints with the West Kelowna Warriors and the Cowichan Valley Capitals.  His BCHL career spans some 111 games with 26 goals, 68 assists for 94 points for a very impressive 0.85 ppg average.  Gelsinger will be a welcome addition to the club.  I can say that after following him in the league over the past two years, I look forward to seeing him his ply his dangerous offensive skills throughout the Island Division this coming season.   

 

Now, back to the present.  After all the dust settled it would appear that no more than seven players who were in Grizzlies uniforms in March during the BCHL First Round vs the Powell River Kings remain with the club at the time of the writing of this report.  While roster spots are far from decided with a Main Camp still to come, one thing is for certain.  At the very best, only Kevin Massy, PJ Conlon, Nick Guiney, Spencer Hunter, Mitchell Barker, Cole Pickup and Cody Van Lierop are left as potential returning veterans after the departure of no less than fifteen members of the 2014/15 Grizzlies.  In the coming days I will write a feature article to map out some of the specific changes as a preview of Main Camp, but suffice to say, there will be a significant amount of opportunity with several openings at all positions in the lineup.  This should be one of the most intriguing and mouth-watering Main Camps in several years and after talking to several Grizzlies fans this past summer, the buzz is already back.

 

Home Exhibition Games are scheduled for Sun 30 Aug vs Cowichan Valley Capitals, Tuesday 1 Sep vs Nanaimo Clippers and Saturday 5 Sep vs Alberni Valley Bulldogs.  Reverse away fixtures for all those teams feature in and around those specific dates.  Hope to see you all there. -CC

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.

Grizzlies Mid-Season Report Card: B

General Overview:

 

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


Photo Credit: Christian J. Stewart

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

 

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

 

Offence

 

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

 

Photo Credit: Christian J. Stewart

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

 

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

 

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

 

Grade A- (Trend: Status Quo)

 

Defense:

 

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

 

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

 

Photo Credit: Christian J. Stewart

 

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

 

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

 

Grade B (Trend: Improving)

 

Goal:

 

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



Photo Credit: Christian J. Stewart

 

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

 

Grade C+ (Trend: Improving)

 

Special Teams:

 

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

Photo Credit: Christian J. Stewart

 

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

 

Grade A (Trend: Improving slightly)

 

Coaching and GM Moves

 

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

 

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

 

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

Photo Credit: Christian J. Stewart

 

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

 

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

 

Grade: F (Trend: Improving significantly)

 

Summation:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

      

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    

Grizzlies vs Warriors 26 Oct 2014: Can You Handle The Truth?

     Well I for one had some mixed feelings after calling the game yesterday afternoon at the Q Centre.  Sure, you could look at the 6-5 loss after that huge three goal outburst by the Grizzlies in the first five minutes of the game, and say: "Well that's a shame, they had it won."  But that's not how I felt as I took off my headset and loosened my tie after the final horn.  And its not how I felt as I drove off the JDF property and up the steep approaches surrounding the rink at about 4:30pm yesterday.  No, not me.  I kept thinking about what that game would have been like if it were played four months from now.  What would that game have been like if it were February 2015?

     Call me a "Homer", call me a "Glass Half Full Kinda Guy", call me all those things if you must, but just remember, I have been watching and studying this league for almost 25 years.  And if there is one thing I have noticed over my time enjoying the BCHL it is this simple fact: teams change over the course of the season.  Some grow strong while others experience atrophy and fail, but few stay the same.  So how much and at what rate do they usually morph?  Well that's always up to the players and coaches to decide.  And while they might not feel like it on Monday morning, this Grizzlies team has a choice.  They can let that loss on Sunday afternoon drive them nuts and allow it to own them the rest of the season.  Or they can look at the film, get back on the ice and figure out what they could have done differently.  That would have been my message in the dressing room anyway.  Well, most of my message.

     You see I saw a 3-0 first period lead yesterday, where it was pretty clear to me that "The October 2014 Grizzlies" were not yet entirely capable of holding that lead down for 55 more minutes.  You could almost conjure up an image of West Kelowna Warriors Head Coach Rylan Ferster, standing in a US Marine Corps dress uniform, just like Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men.  You could almost see him looking up at that scoreboard with a minute to go in Period #1, starring menacingly over at the Grizzlies bench.  At that moment you could almost imagine him yelling at the Grizzlies home bench with that iconic line from that great 1992 Rob Reiner film:  "YOU WANT THE TRUTH?  YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!"

     And that is the sad truth about yesterday's loss in front of a somewhat sparse Sunday matinee crowd of only 634 fans at the Q Centre.  Sorry folks, but the team at this stage of the season, is not quite prepared to handle that kind of truth.  The truth that you can indeed score a quick 3 goals on an offensively gifted team like West Kelowna, a team with obvious bus legs and still win the hockey game.  You can, if you set your collective minds to the task, actually hold them off for another 55 minutes.  That is the truth.  But Rylan Ferster knew it, heck he has coached this Victoria team before, way back in the old 05/06 Salsa days with Tyler Bozak and Jordie Benn.  He knew that a young team like Victoria, only 13 games into a fresh new season, missing major pieces of their offence from last year, were maybe, just maybe, not entirely ready to hold off the likes of Liam Blackburn and the high flying forwards of West Kelowna.  Yes Blackburn, with his BCHL league leading 26 points coming into the contest.

     So there he stood, Coach Rylan Ferster and just like Jack Nicholson, he tried to intimidate and get in the head of his opponent.  And with only :49 seconds left to go in the First Period, he did just that.  Ferster unleashed his Captain and former WHL player, Andrew Johnson on the Grizzlies.  At that moment, the former Swift Current Bronco scored his second goal in only five games since joining his team and donning the "C" for the Warriors.  Sure it was only a single goal.  But on the Grizzlies bench it must have felt like "The Shot Heard Around The World."  That is of course, if you have trouble handling the truth.

     You could just sort of feel it at that moment.  The nearly silent building actually got a little quieter for a second or two, with maybe the odd gasp in the crowd.  3-1 Grizzlies at the first intermission. 

     So I won't labour you with the rest, we all know how it ended.  Yes it was a tough and painful loss for the Grizzlies.  But what will not be remembered so well was how hard the Grizzlies fought at times.  Most will forget how Cole Pickup scored two beautiful 2nd period goals, not only restoring the Grizzlies' two goal leads on both occasions, but rekindling the young forward's confidence in a season which has been a bit of a slow start for #14, let's be honest.  Remember we are talking about the truth you know?  And I don't care what any other sports writer wants to say about that last minute and a half in the game, with the Grizzlies net empty and the crowd on its feet.  Well I was on my feet anyway.

     Here is the truth:  Meirs Moore, Brett Gruber, Garrett Forster, Dane Gibson and that whole batch of players swarming around the Warriors net put on one heck of a performance as they almost pulled of a miraculous tying goal on no less than five or six separate occasions in those dying seconds.  So my hat is off to all you Grizzlies. You showed the heart of a lion, right till the end.

     And there ends the lesson.  The Grizzlies do have and will have in the months ahead all the skill, compete level, energy and willpower to hold off teams like the Warriors, whether they are off to a quick three goal lead, or trailing.  The Grizzlies have what it takes.  The Grizzlies can indeed "handle the truth."  And come next February, when those sorts of games turn into victories, maybe you'll remember that rambling article you read one day in October 2014 about........ wait what was that again?  Rylan Ferster was an actor in A Few Good Men?

     Oh and by the way:  you want to know how that movie ends?  Colonel Jessup, (Jack Nicholson's character) ends up admitting that he ordered the Code Red.  He loses his cool in court and perjures himself and then goes to jail.  And why?  All because a smart young lawyer, played by Tom Cruise stands his ground by trusting himself, trusting his skill and remaining confident in his abilities as an attorney ultimately proving to everyone that he can indeed "handle the truth."  Roll credits.

     And that's the Grizzlies team in February of 2015 which I can't wait to see.  A team that can handle the truth. -CC